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Senate committee approves needs‑based syringe access bill, sets 6‑month residue protection
Summary
The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services passed SB 14 33, amending state syringe‑access law to allow needs‑based distribution, add certain "authorized objects," and protect participants from possession charges for returned syringes with residue for six months after participation.
The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services voted to pass SB 14 33 with amendments that align Hawaii's syringe access program with CDC and federal model recommendations and expand the program's legal protections and equipment list.
Tim McCormick, communicable disease and public health nursing division at the Department of Health, testified the bill's amendments permit needs‑based syringe distribution — which public‑health guidance and evidence show reduces syringe sharing and bloodborne infections — and would not increase…
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