Bill Text: HI HR38 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Tuberculosis; Absences from the State; School Attendance

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-28 - The committee(s) on HLT recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HR38 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HR38-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	38
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH BY UPDATING ITS RULES REGARDING TUBERCULOSIS.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, tuberculosis is a serious health concern globally, nationally, and locally; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis is contagious, airborne, and ranks alongside the human immunodeficiency virus as a leading cause of death worldwide; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2014, an estimated 9,600,000 people worldwide fell ill with tuberculosis, while 1,500,000 people died from the disease; and

 

     WHEREAS, since tuberculosis is so contagious, it is beneficial for the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the State for individuals who have spent an extended time away in high-risk foreign locations to submit to tuberculosis clearance testing upon entering or reentering the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is a matter of statewide concern to prevent tuberculosis prevalence at public schools, the University of Hawaii, and other schools, since large numbers of school students are often in close proximity with each other, and can easily spread the disease, even with minimal or no direct contact; and

 

     WHEREAS, Section 302A-1154, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and Sections 11-157-3.2 and 11-164-6, Hawaii Administrative Rules, currently require all children attending Hawaii schools for any period and all adult students attending Hawaii post-secondary for periods of six months or more to present documentation that they are free from tuberculosis before they first attend school; and

 

     WHEREAS, current law does not require subsequent tuberculosis tests for students who return to the State after living outside of the State for extended periods of time; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Department of Health is urged to protect public health by updating its rules regarding tuberculosis, pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the rules are requested to require any individual who has spent more than one year in foreign high-risk locations to submit to tuberculosis clearance testing upon entering or reentering the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to consider locations in Africa, Asia, Central America, South America as high-risk locations, as well as any other location outside of the United States that the department deems to have a high rate of tuberculosis; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the rules are requested to require any student, including a post-secondary student, and who is required under current statutes and laws to present tuberculosis clearance documentation before an initial entry into a Hawaii school to also present documentation that the student is free from tuberculosis, based upon a clearance obtained within the State after returning to the State after any absence of more than one year; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the Department of Health is unable to adopt the requested rule amendments by the end of 2016, the department is requested to submit a report on its progress toward amending its rules to the Legislature not less than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Chairperson of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, the Superintendent of Education, the President of the University of Hawaii, and the President of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Tuberculosis; Absences from the State; School Attendance