Bill Text: HI SB682 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Safe Drinking Water.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-31 - Re-Referred to HHS, JDC. [SB682 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2025-SB682-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
682 |
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THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO SAFE DRINKING WATER.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
The legislature notes that the State's drinking water laws are broader than section 1412(b)(11) of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300g-1(b)(11)), which states that "[n]o national primary drinking water regulation may require the addition of any substance for preventative health care purposes unrelated to contamination of drinking water."
The legislature believes that to guarantee the protection of the State's good drinking water for present and future generations, the State's drinking water laws should be aligned with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Doing so would simultaneously protect an individual's right to informed consent when mandated to ingest any chemical for medical or preventive treatment of the individual's physical or mental body while also protecting the subset of the population that is more vulnerable to unnecessary chemicals such as the embryo or fetus, those with chronic or end-stage kidney disease, those with auto-immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis or Parkinson's disease, those who are chemically sensitive, those with cancer or terminal diseases, and the elderly.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Prohibit any state or county law, rule, ordinance, or regulation from requiring the addition of any substance, product, or chemical for preventative health care or medical purposes that is unrelated to chemicals necessary for protection against contamination of drinking water to any public water system; and
(2) Establish quality control and public safety requirements if the federal Safe Drinking Water Act is amended to authorize a federal regulation to allow every state to use their drinking water systems to dispense medication for treating the physical or mental function of a person's body.
SECTION 2. Chapter 340E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§340E- Chemical additives to public water
systems; prohibited. (a) In addition to the prohibited acts specified in
section 340E-7, no state or county law, rule, ordinance, or regulation shall
require the addition of any substance, product, or chemical for preventative
health care or medical purposes, such as treating or affecting the physical or
mental functions of the body of any person, that is unrelated to chemicals
necessary for protection against contamination of drinking water, to any public
water system.
(b) If the federal Safe Drinking Water Act is amended
to allow a federal regulation allowing every state to use their drinking water
systems to dispense chemicals or medication for treating the physical or mental
function of a person's body, the following quality control and public safety
requirements of the chemical or medical additive to be used shall apply:
(1) The department shall conduct an
independent environmental assessment to determine the impact of the federal regulation,
which shall include the regulation's cost effectiveness, safer and more
economical alternatives, wastewater discharge effects, potential harm to reef
and marine life, impact of buildup in agriculture farm products, and impact of
bio-accumulative buildup in a person's body.
The environmental assessment shall also consider the most vulnerable
subset of the population, such as the unborn fetus or embryo, young children,
the chemically sensitive, those with end-stage renal disease, diabetics, those
with chronic or immunosuppressive diseases, those with heart disease, and the
elderly. The environmental assessment
shall also analyze the effects of long-term exposure to the chemical or medical
additive to various functions or organs of the human body, such as the intelligence
quotients of young children; provided that the federal regulation:
(A) Specifies the chemical or medication
to be added and the quality standards or specifications that apply; and
(B) Includes a federal guarantee
of acceptance of liability due to any long-term adverse effects of the chemical
or medication specified for use to avoid future class action lawsuits against
the State;
(2) To the extent permissible under
federal regulation of public drinking water supplies, the chemical or medical additive
specified in the federal regulation shall be:
(A) Pharmaceutical grade or
equivalent;
(B) Tested and approved for safety and
effectiveness by the United States Food and Drug Administration; and
(C) Tested using the following
additional safety tests if not already tested by the United States Food and
Drug Administration:
(i) The chemical or medical additive
shall have been tested for safety using the maximum contaminant levels for
contaminants allowed by the standard or specification, plus a safety factor of one
hundred, as is typically used by the United States Food and Drug Administration
for chemical additives to food to minimize any adverse reactions to the most
sensitive population; and
(ii) If the chemical or medical additive,
in combination with other body minerals, forms a thermoluminescent phosphor
material, which is known to create positive charges with unpaired electrons
when exposed to radiation or x-rays, testing shall have been done to determine
any adverse health effects. For the
purposes of this clause, "thermoluminescent phosphor material" includes
but is not limited to calcium fluoride, lithium fluoride, calcium sulfate, and
fluorapatite; and
(3) To the extent permissible under
federal regulation of public drinking water supplies, the chemical or medical additive
specified in the federal regulation shall not:
(A) Be industrial-grade chemical
additives;
(B) Contain any contaminants that would
exceed the maximum contaminant level goals established by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency; and
(C) Increase corrosion of the water
piping system material components or increase leaching of heavy metals, such as
lead from solder or brass components, in a manner that another chemical
additive will be required to minimize corrosion.
No state or county law, rule, ordinance, or regulation shall supersede the requirements of this subsection."
SECTION 3. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.
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:
Department of Health; Safe Drinking Water; Safe Drinking Water Act; Chemical Additive; Requirements; Prohibition
Description:
Prohibits any state or county law, rule, ordinance, or regulation from requiring the addition of any substance, product, or chemical for preventative health care or medical purposes, that is unrelated to chemicals necessary for protection against contamination of drinking water, to any public water system. Establishes quality control and public safety requirements if the Safe Drinking Water Act is amended to authorize a federal regulation to allow every state to use the drinking water system to dispense chemicals or medication for treating the physical or mental function of a person's body.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
