Bill Text: HI SB2113 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Animals.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-23 - Passed Second Reading and referred to the committee(s) on JUD with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) C. Lee, Lowen, McDermott, Souki, Tokioka excused (5). [SB2113 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-SB2113-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2113 |
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TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to animals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that according to Cruelty Free International, for more than fifty years, animals have been used in painful tests to assess the safety of certain chemicals used in cosmetic products and household cleaners. Consumers and scientists have become increasingly skeptical about the necessity and validity of animal testing for cosmetics and household products because animal testing alternatives are available that are cheaper, faster, and better able to predict human reactions.
For example, testing chemicals for skin irritation does not require rabbits to be subjected to toxic levels of the substances because human cells can be grown in vitro to test the chemicals. These tests are more relevant to human safety because they are tested on human cells, not rabbit cells. Similarly, eye irritation tests no longer require the eyes of live animals because corneas can be cultured in vitro for testing or procured from the eyes of animals already killed for food production.
The legislature further finds that according to Cruelty Free International, hundreds of cosmetic and household product companies have voluntarily ceased animal testing. However, without any laws banning animal testing, countless animals are vulnerable to cruel tests. There are no federal laws in the United States that prohibit the use of animals for cosmetic or household product testing or require companies to first look to available test alternatives. On the state level, three states require alternative test methods, if available, to be used for cosmetic and household product testing. In 2000, California became the first state in the nation to mandate the use of alternative test methods, and New Jersey and New York followed in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
The purpose of this Act is to prohibit manufacturers, contract testing facilities, and research facilities in Hawaii from using animal test methods for which an alternative test method is available.
SECTION 2. Chapter 142, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§142- Animal testing; alternative methods. (a)
No manufacturer, contract testing facility, or research facility shall
use an animal test method in this State if an alternative method is available
that provides information of equivalent or better scientific quality and
relevance than the animal test method.
(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the
use of test methods or strategies that do not use animals and are not
alternative methods as defined under subsection (e).
(c) Nothing in this section shall apply to any
animal test method performed for the purpose of medical research.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,
the exclusive remedy for any violation of this section shall be a civil action
for injunctive relief brought by the attorney general in the circuit court of
the circuit where the alleged violation occurred. The court may impose a civil fine not to
exceed $5,000 on the manufacturer, contract testing facility, or research
institution in violation of this section.
(e) For purposes of this section:
"Alternative
method" means a test method or strategy that:
(1) Does not use animals, or uses fewer animals
or causes less suffering to animals when there is no appropriate non-animal test
method or strategy available; and
(2) Has been validated according to
international validation principles or identified by validation bodies, and
adopted by the relevant federal agency or program within an agency responsible
for regulating the specific product or activity for which the test method or
strategy is being conducted.
"Alternative method" includes but is
not limited to computational toxicology and bioinformatics, high throughput
screening methods, chemical substance category testing, tiered testing methods,
in vitro studies, and systems biology, including new or revised methods.
"Animal"
means a live vertebrate nonhuman animal.
"Animal
test method" means a process or procedure using animals to obtain
information on the characteristics of a chemical or agent, or the biological
effect of exposure to a chemical or agent under specified conditions.
"Contract
testing facility" means any partnership, corporation, association, or
other legal relationship that tests chemicals, ingredients, product
formulations, or products in this State.
"Manufacturer"
means any partnership, corporation, association, or other legal relationship
that produces chemicals, ingredients, product formulations, or products in this
State.
"Medical
research" means research related to the causes, diagnosis, treatment,
control, or prevention of physical or mental diseases and impairments of humans
and animals, or related to the development of biomedical products, devices, or
drugs. "Medical research" shall
not include the testing of an ingredient that was formerly used in a drug, was
tested for drug use by humans under animal test methods aimed to characterize
the ingredient and substantiate its safety, and is proposed for use in a
product other than a biomedical product, device, or drug.
"Research facility" means a facility of an institution of higher education that receives public money, including tax exempt status; a facility that provides research in collaboration with an institution of higher education; or a facility that uses animal test methods for science, testing, education, or research purposes."
SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Animals; Animal Testing; Alternatives; Manufacturer; Contract Test Facility; Research Facility; Penalty
Description:
Prohibits manufacturers, contract testing facilities, and research facilities in Hawaii from using animal test methods for which an alternative test method is available. Imposes a civil fine and authorizes the attorney general to seek injunctive relief and any other recovery of damages.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
