STAND. COM. REP. NO. 359-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1550

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 Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1550 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to exclude certain drug testing products from the definition of drug paraphernalia under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; State Health Planning and Development Agency; Hep Free Hawaii; and Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that drug checking is a well-established harm reduction practice that provides individuals and communities with critical information about the contents of unregulated substances, which reduces the risk of accidental overdose and other adverse health outcomes and improves clinical care. Your Committee further finds that illicit drugs in Hawaii increasingly been found to contain fentanyl and other dangerous substances, and that while fentanyl test strips are an important tool, they are limited in scope as they are only able to detect the presence of fentanyl. More advanced tools can both detect and quantify the substances present in a sample. Your Committee believes that exempting additional drug checking tools, including chemical reagents and spectrometers, from the definition of drug paraphernalia, as proposed by this measure, will expand access to accurate, life-saving information without promoting substance use.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; 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 Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1550, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1550, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair