STAND. COM. REP. NO. 44-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1913

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred H.B. No. 1913 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERAN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish within the Office of Veterans' Services one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) Mental Health Coordinator position at the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home on the island of Oahu.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Oahu Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and four individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Veterans' Services and one individual.

Your Committee finds that veterans in Hawaii face significant mental health challenges, including trauma, stress, and adjustment disorders, and this measure supports their needs.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Establishing the Mental Health Coordinator position at Tripler Army Medical Center rather than at the Daniel K. Akaka Veterans Home to coordinate mental and behavioral health services for veterans statewide;

(2) Removing the exemption of the Mental Health Coordinator position from civil service requirements of chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(3) Changing its effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Health, should it deliberate on this measure, to work with the Office of Veterans' Services to determine an appropriate appropriation amount to establish the Mental Health Coordinator position.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1913, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1913, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Health.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety,

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair