WOMEN'S LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS OPENS LACTATION ROOM FOR MOTHERS ATTENDING PUBLIC HEARINGS AT THE STATE CAPITOL

Room will provide privacy, comfort for mothers to nurse babies, express milk

Women's Legislative Caucus members celebrate the blessing and opening of the new Lactation Room at the State Capitol. (From left) Rep. Linda Ichiyama, Rep. Lauren Matsumoto, Sen. Laura H. Thielen, Sen. Rosalyn H. Baker, Rep. Della Au Belatti, Sen. Sharon Y. Moriwaki, Rep. Lisa Kitagawa, and Rep. Nadine K. Nakamura.

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi –The Women's Legislative Caucus (WLC) today held a blessing and opening ceremony for the first Lactation Room at the State Capitol. The room, located on the second floor, will provide a comfortable, private space for mothers to nurse their babies and express milk. 

The space is comfortably furnished with a table, chair, posters and a rug provided by the House and Senate Clerks offices for the project.

"In the past, mothers who came to the Capitol to talk to lawmakers, attend hearings, or testify did not have a private, hygienic place to use a breast pump," said Representative Linda Ichiyama, Women's Legislative Caucus Co-Convener. "This new room for mothers and families removes a barrier to open participation in government. I'm grateful it all came together before the start of the next legislative session."

"We have wanted to make this room available for a couple years and needed to find the right space," said Senator Rosalyn H. Baker, Co-Convener of the WLC. "The Lactation Room will allow mothers who are breastfeeding to feel safe and comfortable when they visit the Capitol."

Leʻa Minton, Board President of Breastfeeding Hawaiʻi, said the lactation room is critical for allowing mothers to take part in the legislative process.

"Lactation rooms are opening in government building across the country," Minton said. "Mothers have the right to breastfeed or express milk and still take part in the legislative process. We want to thank the Women's Legislative Caucus for making this happen."

REPRESENTATIVE KITAGAWA, HOUSE LEADERSHIP INVITE KĀNEʻOHE, KAHALUʻU, WAIĀHOLE RESIDENTS TO LAWMAKERS LISTEN COMMUNITY MEETING

WHO:             Representative Lisa Kitagawa

House Speaker Scott K. Saiki and House Leadership

WHAT:          Lawmakers Listen, community meeting

WHEN:          Tuesday, October 22

                        6:30 p.m.

WHERE:       Benjamin Parker Elementary School Cafeteria

45-259 Waikalua Road, Kāneʻohe

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – The public is invited to join Representative Lisa Kitagawa (Kāneʻohe, Kahaluʻu, Waiāhole) and members of the House of Representatives Leadership team for an open discussion about the upcoming Legislative session and important community topics including education, environmental, homelessness, and family issues on October 22 at Benjamin Parker Elementary School Cafeteria.

Members of the community are invited to share their questions and concerns directly with Rep. Kitagawa, Speaker of the House Scott K. Saiki, Majority Leader Della Au Belatti, Majority Floor Leader Dee Morikawa, and Labor & Public Employment Committee Chair Aaron Ling Johanson.

CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMITTEES TO HOLD BRIEFING ON YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC

WHO:             Representative Roy M. Takumi, Chair, House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce

Senator Rosalyn H. Baker, Chair, Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health

WHAT:          Informational Briefing seeking solutions to end the youth vaping epidemic

WHEN:          Thursday, October 17

                        10 a.m.

                       

WHERE:       Hawaiʻi State Capitol

                        Room 309

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi –The House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce and the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health Committee will hold an informational briefing on the youth vaping epidemic at 10 a.m. Thursday, October 17 in room 309 at the State Capitol.

Youth vaping is a serious public health issue and recently there has been a dramatic increase in use of electronic smoking devices by Hawaiʻi's youth. Only 4.7 percent of Hawaiʻi adults report use of electronic smoking devices as compared to 26 percent of our public high school students with numbers up to 34 percent for the neighbor islands. The national vaping average is 13 percent.

Overall, U.S. youth vaping surged 78 percent in just one year between 2017 and 2018.

REPRESENTATIVE MIZUNO, CVS PHARMACY ANNOUNCE THE INSTALLATION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISPOSAL UNITS AT 17 LONGS DRUGS STORES

Effort to help stop prescription drug diversion and misuse, save lives

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – State Representative John Mizuno, Chair the House Health Committee, talked about the need to address the diversion and misuse of unwanted or unneeded prescription medications including opioids in Hawaiʻi at the Kamehameha Long Drugs CVS Pharmacy last week.

Mizuno, author of HB1272 which was signed into law on July 2 as Act 183, said the bill allows for the safe disposal of prescription drugs at drug disposal units now being utilized by CVS Longs at 17 of their pharmacies statewide.

"According to statistics from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, 200 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, and 2,000 Americans suffer an overdose every day," said Mizuno (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley, Lower Kalihi). "From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 people have died from a drug overdose. We have an opioid crisis."

The drug disposal units are an effort to combat the opioid epidemic and support healthcare providers and health systems, partner with law enforcement, and encourage consumers to make safe choices about opioids and the devastation that comes with their misuse.

"We need to make sure that prescription drugs that are no longer needed by the patients they were meant for are disposed of properly and don't fall into the wrong hands," said Mizuno. "I want to thank CVS Longs for supporting this endeavor and program in Hawaiʻi."

REPRESENTATIVE PERRUSO, HOUSE LEADERSHIP INVITE WAHIAWĀ, WHITMORE VILLAGE, LAUNANI VALLEY RESIDENTS TO LAWMAKERS LISTEN COMMUNITY MEETING

WHO:             Representative Amy A. Perruso

House Speaker Scott K. Saiki and House Leadership

WHAT:          Lawmakers Listen, community meeting

WHEN:          Tuesday, October 8

                        6 p.m.

WHERE:       Dot's Wahiawā

130 Mango St.

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – The public is invited to join Repretentive Amy A. Perruso (Wahiawā, Whitmore Village, Launani Valley) and members of the House of Representatives Leadership team for an open discussion about the upcoming Legislative session and important community issues including education, family issues, and homelessness on October 8 at Dot's in Wahiawā.

Members of the community are invited to share their questions and concerns directly with Rep. Perruso, Speaker of the House Scott K. Saiki, Majority Leader Della Au Belatti, and Majority Floor Leader Dee Morikawa.