Health

Passenger safety
(HB 135 HD2 SD1 CD1)
Requires children between the ages of 4 and 8 and under 80 pounds to be placed in a safety seat or booster seat when riding in an automobile; and requires children ages 8 to 15 to wear seatbelts.

Drug treatment
(HB 200 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Appropriates $4.4 million for new treatment services for prison inmates.

Syringes
(HB 646 HD1 SD2 CD1)
Allows health care providers and pharmacists to sell sterile syringes to the general public as a way of preventing the spread of disease among drug addicts and their sex partners.

Mental health services
(HB 200 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Provides $22.6 million for new community based mental health services for the mentally ill at Hawai'i State Hospital.

Medical privacy
(HB 201 HD1 SD2 CD1)
Would repeal the controversial 1999 state law on privacy of health care information, which caused an uproar in the insurance industry last year.

Disabled services
(HB 200 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Provides $23.4 million for new services for the developmentally disabled.

Pickup passengers
Would have prohibited youths 17 years old or less from riding in the beds of pickup trucks. Current law prohibits children 12 and under from riding in truck beds.

Prescription drugs
Establishes the Hawai'i Rx Program to form a purchasing pool that to negotiate discounts from pharmaceutical companies. The discounts would be available to people without drug coverage or who must pay cash for their prescriptions.

Helmets
Requires persons under 16 years of age to wear helmets when operating scooters or skateboards. Prohibits clinging to vehicles while riding on scooters or skateboards. Allows counties to regulate persons riding scooters and skateboards on streets and highways under their jurisdiction.

Dental care
Appropriates money to provide basic dental services for adults covered under Medicaid or QUEST on a fee-for-service basis. Imposes a service cap of $500 per enrollee per year.

Abortion notification
Would require physicians to notify minors' parents at least 96 hours before performing an abortion. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee but a 5-member majority of the committee later petitioned Committee Chairman Brian Kanno to reconsider. The majority then voted down the bill.

Fluoridation
Would require the fluoridation of public water systems with 5,000 or more service connections.

Truck passengers
Would prohibit minors 16 and under from riding in the back of pickup trucks in counties with populations of more than 250,000.

Smoking at airports
Prohibits smoking in all airport facilities except in specially designated enclosed areas.

Native Hawaiian Health
Would establish a native Hawaiian health care fund to pay for the costs associated with providing health care to indigent native Hawaiians.

Tattoos
Would require minors to inform tattoo artists that they are underage and provide parental consent for a tattoo.

Medical services exemption
Would exclude medical services and medical products from the general excise tax.

Prescription drugs
Would provide a tax credit to help people afford prescription drugs.

Hospital nurses
Would prohibit public and private hospitals from requiring registered nurses to work overtime, except in cases of a publicly declared emergency.