STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3661

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1481

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1481, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN REMAINS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require any cemetery, crematory, funeral establishment, hydrolysis facility, or mortuary to dispose of the remains of a dead human body no later than sixty days from the later of either the date a burial‑transit permit has been issued or the date of an affidavit for amendment of the permit has been submitted.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Funeral and Cemetery Association, Inc.; Hawaiian Memorial Life Plan, Ltd. and Ballard Mortuary, Inc.; Dodo Mortuary, Inc. and Crematory; Hosoi Garden Mortuary; and Mililani Group, Inc.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that under existing law, a permit from the Department of Health prescribing the date and location where a burial or cremation must occur is required prior to the final disposition of a decedent. Consent and signatures from a designated authorized representative, or the majority of the "next of kin", which can sometimes require multiple individual family members' authorization, is required for the final disposition. This can often be challenging for families to coordinate during periods of grief. Your Committee further finds that changing the date on a permit requires an affidavit and failure to properly record the actual disposition date can result in penalties and fines. This measure would provide flexibility in scheduling of disposition of deceased human remains.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1481, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1481, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair