House Standing Committee on Health

Good morning and welcome to the Committee on Health. Today is Wednesday, April second, 2025. The time now is 10:30, and we are in conference room 329. Here in the meeting with me, I have my chair, Representative Takayama. I also have members Lisa Martin and Ikaika Olds joining us, and other members will trickle in a little bit.

As in tradition here in the Committee on Health, we are allowing testifiers two minutes to read their testimony. Because this is a morning hearing, we must adjourn prior to the noon floor session. Please keep yourself muted if you are on Zoom and while you are waiting to testify.

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In the event of a network failure, fire alarm, or any unforeseen circumstances, it may be necessary to reschedule the hearing or schedule a meeting for decision making. In that case, an inappropriate notice will be posted. And for those of us on Zoom, please avoid using any trademark or copyright images.

And of course, here in health, we share aloha. With that, members, let's start top of the agenda with HCR96, HR 22, encouraging the University of Hawaii to evaluate and expand its current mental health services for students. I have on Zoom. Farrah-Marie Gomes, University of Hawaii Systems.

Aloha, Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony today in support of HCR96. I'm not sure if Vice President Halbert is there in the room. Oh, there she is, but we have provided written testimony. We stand on that testimony and are available for any questions that you may have. Thank you.

Great. Members, that's the only testifier we had signed up, but we also received three, three letters in support. Members, any questions on HCR96 or HR92? Thank you, members. Moving on.

HCR 145, HCR 139, urging the Department of Education, Department of Health, and other relevant stakeholders to collaborate and develop a strategic plan to prepare for Hawaii's pursuit of funding for and participation in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's public health surveillance for estimating autism prevalence. Members, I have Cassandra Morse on Zoom.

Hi. I meant to testify for HR 92. That's what it said on my. My thing. I'm so sorry. Yeah. Can I testify for HR 92? Okay. Hi. Aloha to the chairs of this Committee. I stand on my written testimony.

But in supplement, I would like to add that as a social work student, mental health is one of the biggest priorities in our field, and it is our mission as social workers to have accessible mental health care to all.

And as a student, we are often apprehensive about seeking services, but if services were expanded for us, we would be more opportune to seek it out. Thank you so much for your time. I'm prepared for any questions that you might have.

Great. Thank you so much. Okay, Members again, HCR145 and HCR1. I have Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Dantry.

Hi.

Thank you. Vice Chairs, Chairs, Committee Members. Daintree Bartoldus is Executive Director for the Hawaii State Council on Development of Disabilities. We stand in strong support of this measure. I won't go into details. You have it what I want to say. But I've asked my intern to come up. She's a subject matter expert in this.

And give the rest of our testimony.

Thank you. Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Suman Gorham and I'm an intern under Daintree at the Department of Developmental Disabilities or Council. Hawaii State Council. Sorry, I don't know that I'm a subject matter expert necessarily.

But first and foremost, I do want to say that there's absolutely nothing wrong with autism and we must do better in supporting individuals on the spectrum. Documentation of autism dates back to as early as the 5th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that disabilities began to be formally recognized.

With a background in psychology and behavioral therapy, I've had the privilege of working with both children and adults with autism. They're some of the most kind, compassionate, and insightful individuals that I've ever met. We could all learn from their perspective. It is our responsibility to ensure that they have the support they need to live a fulfilling life.

Every individual deserves the opportunity to be valued, included, and empowered Member of society just like anyone else. Thank you for this opportunity to testify.

Thank you so much. Any other Members wishing to testify in the room on Zoom? I'm on Zoom. Thank you. Please state your name and proceed.

Aloha, Chair Takayama and the Members of the Committee on Health. My name is Jessica McCallum. I am the founder of the Ava Sophia Foundation, doing business as Autism Moms of Kona, and I am also a mother of three children on the autism spectrum. I stand in strong support of this measure.

Mahalo for hearing this resolution on such an important day today, which happens to be World Autism Awareness Day in 2008.

The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight the need to help improve the quality of life of those with autism so they can lead full and meaningful lives as an integral part of society. The current statistics for Autism prevalence is 1 in 36 children.

This is from surveillance data from the Autism, Developmental and Disabilities Monitoring via the CDC, which was collected from monitoring sites across the United States, more so across the mainland. From that data, it was found that populations of Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders were among the most prevalent and most profoundly impacted.

With one in 30 children being impacted. These numbers are above other populations. African American, Hispanic, Caucasian and so on. Again, these numbers are from sites across the mainland. I feel like we need to do a better representation of the people that live here in the State of Hawaii.

This does provide a lot of opportunity for those that are living here, opening up more resources and support, support for the people of Hawaii. So thank you. I stand by my written testimony. Thank you so much.

All right, anyone else in the room on Zoom? All right, Members, any questions? Comments? Thank you Members. Moving on.

We're on HCR186 and HR179 requesting the Department of Education in collaboration with the Department of Health and staff and State Public Charter Schools Commission to conduct a study on the practices of managing heat exposure in the department and charter schools to protect students' health during outdoor activities. Let's see. I have Department of Health in support.

Thank you. I have Climate Change and Health Working Group in support.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, and members of the health committee. My name is James McCallan, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Climate Change and Health Working Group in Strong support of HCR186, HR179. We appreciate the committee's previous support for the bill version of this measure which unfortunately never was heard in the Finance Committee.

But thank you for hearing this resolution, which continues the effort to protect our children from heat-related illness. Across Hawaii. Rising temperatures put children at greater risk for heat-related illness, especially during sports, recess, and practice when they have limited control over scheduling and hydration.

This resolution calls for a study on current heat management practices and the use of wet bulb globe temperature standards, which would provide a clear data-driven guideline to protect students from dangerous heat stress. By examining costs and feasibility, we can proactively prevent harm and ensure our schools have the tools they need to safeguard children's health.

Mahala, for the opportunity to testify, thank you.

Thank you for being here. All right, that's all I have on my list. Anyone else in the room wishing to testify? Anyone else on Zoom?

Okay, Members, moving on to the last item on our agenda, HCR188, HR182, declaring a public health emergency relating to climate change and requesting statewide coordination to identify plans for and create cross sector solutions to strengthen Hawaii's public health response to to the climate crisis. I have in person James McClellan McCallan, Hawaii Public Health Institute in support.

Thank you, Aloha Chair, Vice Chairs and Members of the Committee. My name is James McCallan. I'm the Director of Community Preparedness and Resilience here for this this measure on behalf of Hawaii Public Health Institute or HIFI in support of this resolution which declares a public health emergency in response to climate change.

When most people think of climate change, they think of sea level rise, eroding coastlines, and maybe even talk about solar panels or electric cars. At hifi, we also see how climate change undermines public health through increased wildfires, heat related illness, invasive mosquito disease and so much more.

I encourage you to please refer to the figure 1, pinwheel graphic on our written testimony detailing the human health impacts of climate change in Hawaii. I also encourage you to please refer to the more detailed vulnerability assessment of this published on the Department of Health's website. This cannot be a health Department issue alone.

Sustainable agriculture, urban planning that reduces heat, islands, transportation and emergency response decisions. These are all areas of other state departments that can either worsen or improve the health impacts of climate change. This resolution doesn't change statute, but it sends a powerful message that we're ready to take collective action.

It's about bringing agencies together to see the bigger health picture and to build stronger, more resilient communities. For these reasons, HIFI respectfully urges you to pass this resolution. Mahala, for your time, thank you so much.

On zoom. I have Henry Curtis, Life of the Land. Also on zoom. Emily Werner. Thank you.

Good morning Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Health Committee. My name is Emily Warner and I am testifying on behalf of the Climate Change and Health Working Group in support of HR182. We are a group of medical professionals, academics, scientists, teachers and students spanning across the state and focusing on strengthening climate and health resiliency.

I am currently a student at UH Manila and as a student studying sustainability, I have learned firsthand climate changes and impact on our future, making this issue especially urgent for mine and future generations. Previously, the Legislature has recognized climate change as a climate emergency and expressed urgency to take action on fighting the climate crisis.

However, in order to successfully do this, we must adequately address and prepare for the serious impacts climate change imposes on our health. Climate change is one of the most dire threats to our health today.

A few specific and proven threats of climate change include increasing risk of cardiovascular disease from poll heat illness, displacement, injury and fatalities from wildfires and severe weather events, and food insecurity. All of these listed human health concerns not only negatively impact mental health, leading to stress, anxiety and depression, they also exacerbate social, economic, racial and gendered inequalities.

As legislators, you have the responsibility and ability to protect our health by planning for these impacts now so we are not left reacting to them later.

With the lack of and inaction of the climate change and health crisis being addressed federally, it is more increasingly important to stand on and continue to support the state's strong stance on fighting the climate crisis and our core values of protecting Hawaii's communities and people.

The passing of this resolution continues to show the rest of the country and world Hawaii's position of being a leader in climate change action and policy and reassures and builds upon our commitment to urgently fight and address the impacts of the climate. CR Please vote yes. Thank you for the opportunity and time.

Thank you so much for being here. Anyone else in the room wishing to testify on HCR188 or HR182, please step forward. Share your name sure and proceed.

Okay Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Martina Lealoha Kamaka and I'm a Native Hawaiian family physician, Professor in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John Byrne School of Medicine and currently serve as Vice Chair for the National Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Physicians.

I am here in strong support for this resolution declaring that climate change is a public health emergency.

The public may be aware of climate related health impacts such as heat illness, increased infections, cesspool and fresh water contamination, fire and flooding, but they may not always be aware that climate change is causing increases in chronic diseases such as cancer, heart and lung diseases, mental health disorders and complications for pregnant mothers.

Our dependence on fossil fuels and plastics is resulting in the presence of plastic particles and placentas of mothers and in our own body tissues which is hurting our immune systems, hormonal systems and organ functions. Since these health problems may not manifest for years, they are not always seen as related to climate change.

The medical community and the Department of Health cannot fight these battles alone. This resolution needs to be passed to make the critical case that we all need to be working together, every person, agency, organization and community to address this public health emergency it is a Kauko thing.

We all have Kuleana, a deep responsibility to care for the finite resources that we've been given. Think of seven generations from now. That is a Kuleana that we have for our ancestors, our children, our descendants and our aina. Mahalo for allowing me to speak.

Thank you, Ms. Kamaka, for being here. Last call on 8. CR188 or HR182 on Zoom. Okay, Members, if it's okay, I'd like. zero, and Members, any questions? All right, seeing none. If it's okay, we'll go right into decision making starting with HCR 996 and HR 92 Vice Chair's recommendation is to pass as is. Members, any comments, questions?

Go ahead.

Chair, I'll be voting no on this last Bill. On Bill we're on 188. zero, we're on eight. Zero, I'm sorry, we're on the wrong one. Okay. Sorry about that. Sure.

All right. Recommendation is to pass as is any others with comments, questions, concerns. Chair, please take the vote.

Voting on HCR 96 and HR 92. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. Representative Amado.

Aye.

Representative Chun.

Aye.

Representative Martin.

Aye.

Representative Olds. Aye. Representative Takenouchi.

Aye.

Representative Alcos. Aye. Representative Garcia. Aye. Chair, your conditions adopted.

Thank you so much. Members voting on HCR145HR139, the recommendation is to pass as is. Members, any comments, questions, concerns? Thank you. Members.

Chair for the vote voting on HCR145 and HR139. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. Any Members voting with reservations or no, seeing none. Chair, your recommendations adopted.

Thank you so much Members. Moving on to HCR186HR179 recommendation is to pass as is. Members, any questions, comments?

Chair for the vote, please voting on HCR186 and HR179. Any noting presence of all Members? Anyone voting with reservations or no, seeing none. Chair, your conditions adopted.

Thank you so much. Members, our final Bill or final resolution on the agenda HCR188HR182 this one. Members, we're going to go to a House draft one adding in technical amendments needed for clarity, consistency and style. Recommendation is to pass with amendments. Members, any comments, questions? Go ahead.

Sure. About climate change. We do want climate change and want to see Hawaii and our whole world look better on our climate but want to know more details of where they spending the money on the climate change and see what actually what's happening and the progress of. Let's say we give $100 million.

And we want to know what went happen with $100 million. Did it help our climate? Are we moving backwards? Are we winning the battle? Are we losing the battle against climate? I would like to have more accountability of how we spend our money and that's the reason why I'm voting them. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other Members? Mr. Chair. zero, go ahead Mr. Thank you, Chair.

Declaring climate change as a public health emergency is misleading and politicized. Hawaii is facing real emergencies. Families can't afford housing, drugs are destroying our communities and crime is rising in our neighborhoods.

Stretching the definition of public health emergency to include climate change waters down the urgency of actual public health emergency threats in our community like the fentanyl overdoses, untreated mental illness and crumbling infrastructure. We need to focus on what's hurting local people now and not manufacturing emergencies to push political agendas. I'll be voting no. Thank you.

Thank you. Member Garcia. Member Martins.

I just wanted to thank this Committee for hearing and recommending passage of this very important measure. We did already declare maybe four years ago a climate change emergency in our state, noting how it is so broad, the impacts are so broad.

And I appreciate that this non monetary legislation really urges coordination between multiple branches because it is such an extensive issue that impacts us in so many different ways and really requires a lot of coordination. So thank you for that. Great.

Any other Members wishing to offer comment? All right. To the chair for the vote please.

Voting on HCR188 and HR182, noting the no votes of Representatives Alcos and Garcia on both measures. Any other Members voting with reservations or no seeing none. Chair, your recommendations adopt.

Great. Thank you Members. Thank you for being here. This meeting is adjourned.

Sam.