STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3698

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1514

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. 1514, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify the process for selecting a certified provider of vocational rehabilitation services;

(2) Require certified providers to automatically approve vocational rehabilitation services for an injured employee if those services will likely be required for suitable gainful employment and the initial evaluation report finds the injured employee feasible to participate;

(3) Require providers to file an employee's vocational rehabilitation plan no later than one hundred twenty days after submitting an initial evaluation report, unless extended by the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations; and

(4) Clarify the process for an employer to object to a vocational rehabilitation plan.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Human Resources Development, Hawaii Insurers Council, Hawaii Medical Association, University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, Work Injury Medical Association of Hawaii, and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Rehabilitation Counseling Association; International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, Hawaii Chapter; and one individual.

Your Committee finds that individuals with work-related injuries or illnesses require prompt evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment. Timely access to a vocational rehabilitation program, typically provided by an occupational therapist affiliated with a public or private vocational rehabilitation agency, supports recovery and safe return to gainful employment to the best of an individual's abilities. This measure would enhance outcomes for injured workers while reducing delays and costs within the workers' compensation system by focusing on early intervention to ensure efficient and cost-effective vocational rehabilitation processes that help injured employees return to work as soon as possible.

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. 1514, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

________________________________

JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair