STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2114-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2175

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 2175, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISPOSABLE ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to prohibit the sale, offer for sale, or distribution for sale of any disposable electronic smoking device in the State, beginning January 1, 2027.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi's Youth Council; Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition; Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi - American Nurses Association; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; Hawaiʻi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; The Friends of Kamalani & Lydgate Park; Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute; Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center; Hawaiʻi Public Health Association; University of Hawaiʻi Student Health Advisory Council; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Retail Merchants of Hawaii and one individual.

Your Committee finds that disposable electronic smoking devices have become increasingly prevalent and are disproportionately used by youth due to their low cost, high nicotine content, and appealing designs and flavors. Your Committee further finds that these products pose significant public health concerns, including nicotine addiction and exposure to harmful substances, and create environmental harms due to their non-refillable and difficult-to-recycle nature. By prohibiting the sale and distribution of disposable electronic smoking devices, this measure protects public health, reduces youth access to nicotine products, and mitigates associated environmental impacts.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that a violation of the proposed prohibition in this measure shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 per day for each violation; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2175, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2175, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair