Hawaii-2012-SB2454-Introduced

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that although Hawaii is cited as one of the healthiest states in the country, far too many people continue to suffer needlessly from preventable health problems. Since many people develop their knowledge and practice of a healthy lifestyle in school, the department of education established the healthy Hawaii initiative program to support healthy lifestyles by implementing policies and programs to create sustainable changes in Hawaii's schools.

The healthy Hawaii initiative program provides standards-based professional development and technical services to schools and teachers for health and physical education content for kindergarten to twelfth grade students. Such educational content includes knowledge building, skill development, informed decision-making, and goal-oriented outcomes. Educational instruction includes promoting healthy behaviors, positive attitudes, healthy relationships, and drug-free, physically active lifestyles. The program outcomes directly impact the prevention of suicide, obesity, bullying, teen pregnancy, smoking, sexually transmitted diseases, and other risky behavior. In addition to developing educational content and instruction, the healthy Hawaii initiative program also assists in the coordination of the peer education program and professional development.

The legislature also finds that the department of health allocates funding from the Hawaii tobacco settlement special fund to the department of education on an annual basis to implement the healthy Hawaii initiative program. The original funding received in 2001 was $1,800,000. Since then, the department of health has been decreasing the amount allocated to the department of education yearly. For the 2012-2013 school year, the department of education received $900,000 from the department of health through a memorandum of agreement. Unfortunately, as the department of education faces shrinking funding, it also faces increasing costs, including but not limited to inflation, increased salaries and fringe benefits costs, increased scope of services, and increased prices of instructional materials, inter-island and mainland travel, equipment, and computer hardware and software. The effect is that the $900,000 received for this school year's program funding covers only payroll (including fringe benefits) for the resource teachers located on all islands that support health and physical education teachers and programs in the schools as part of the healthy Hawaii initiative program.

The legislature further finds that because health and physical education are not one of the United States No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 core content areas, federal funds are not allocated to support the content areas of health and physical education.

The purpose of this Act is to require a percentage of Hawaii tobacco settlement special fund moneys to be appropriated to the healthy Hawaii initiative program, which supports health and physical education.

SECTION 2. Section 328L-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The fund shall be used for the purpose of receiving, allocating, and appropriating the tobacco settlement moneys as follows:

(1) Fifteen per cent shall be appropriated into the emergency and budget reserve fund under section 328L‑3; provided that for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, this percentage shall be deposited into the general fund;

(2) Twenty-five per cent shall be appropriated to the department for purposes of section 328L-4;

(3) Six and one-half per cent shall be appropriated into the Hawaii tobacco prevention and control trust fund under section 328L-5; provided that for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, this percentage shall be deposited into the general fund; [~~and~~]

(4) Twenty-eight per cent shall be appropriated into the university revenue-undertakings fund created in section 304A-2167.5 to be applied solely to the payment of the principal of and interest on, and to generate required coverage, if any, for revenue bonds issued by the board of regents of the University of Hawaii to finance the cost of construction of a university health and wellness center, including a new medical school facility, to be situated on the island of Oahu, for the succeeding fiscal year; provided that any moneys in excess of the amount required to pay principal of and interest on, and to generate required coverage, if any, for such revenue bonds in any fiscal year, shall be transferred as follows: to the emergency and budget reserve fund under section 328L‑3; [~~and~~]

(5) [~~Twenty-five~~] Twenty-three and one-half per cent shall be deposited to the credit of the state general fund; and

(6) Two per cent shall be appropriated to the department of health for the implementation of the healthy Hawaii initiative program;

in the succeeding fiscal year."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2012; provided that the amendments made to section 328L-2(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, by this Act shall not be repealed when section 328L-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is reenacted pursuant to section 6 of Act 119, Session Laws of Hawaii 2009.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2454
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII