Hawaii bills tackle marijuana, police oversight, pesticides

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii lawmakers are heading into their fifth week of the 2016 legislative session, and they are scheduled to take on bills relating to marijuana, police oversight and pesticide buffer zones.

They are up against a deadline Friday, when all bills must be in their final committee.

A bill being heard Tuesday morning at a joint hearing with the House Committees on Agriculture and Energy and Environmental Protection would start a pilot program that creates pesticide buffer zones around schools. If passed, five schools near commercial agricultural areas would be selected to participate.

Also on Tuesday morning, the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee will consider a bill to strengthen Hawaii’s equal-pay law and help close the wage gap between men and women. The bill would require men and women to be paid equally for “substantially similar work,” despite different job titles or work locations. For instance, the new law could require that a female cleaner be paid the same as a male janitor, even though they have different job titles.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs will consider a bill to require county police departments to set rules for body and vehicle cameras. The bill would also provide funding to help pay for cameras.

Another bill being heard Tuesday afternoon would set penalties for parking lot owners who have at least 100 spaces and don’t provide at least one space as an exclusive electric vehicle charging station. Parking lot owners who fail to comply would face a $1,000 fine.

On Wednesday morning, Hawaii lawmakers will decide to move forward with several bills that would set rules for Hawaii’s future medical marijuana industry. Lawmakers will meet for a joint hearing with the House Health and Judiciary committees to decide whether to pass several bills.

One of the proposed laws would allow medical marijuana businesses to grow crops in greenhouses, shade houses or outdoors in open air. Right now, Hawaii Department of Health rules ban businesses from growing marijuana in greenhouses.

Other proposed marijuana laws include one to allow for temporary medical marijuana cards for patients, as well as a law to let doctors prescribe low-potency marijuana for any medical condition they see fit.