STAND. COM. REP. NO. 304-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1562

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1562 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for a one-year Digital Youth Mental Health Platform pilot program that will enable the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division of the Department of Health to develop and make publicly available a digital platform designed to help young people address and manage mental health challenges.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Office of the Public Defender; Hawaiʻi State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Plus Commission; Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition; HI H.O.P.E.S. Initiative; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; Hawaii Medical Association; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; and three individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the State Procurement Office.

Your Committees find that, as the result of multiple traumas such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 Maui wildfires, and rising family instability resulting from housing insecurity and loss of essential social services, mental health needs among Hawaii's children and adolescents are on the rise. Your Committees further find that providing easy access to trusted information and resources empowers youth, reduces stigma, and may prevent mental health challenges from worsening in the future. A digital platform like the one proposed by this measure that can connect youth to these trusted resources will help youth overcome barriers, such as geographic isolation, transportation challenges, and long waitlists, that might otherwise prevent them from accessing mental health services, and will enable youth who might be unable to access in-person mental health services to receive the support they need in a safe and convenient manner.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Your Committees note the testimony of the Hawaiʻi State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Plus Commission that many LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse youth experience disproportionately high rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, bullying, family rejection, and homelessness, and that a digital platform may be the first or only place these youth feel safe seeking help. Accordingly, your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider requiring the digital platform established by this measure to include language specifically addressing the needs of Hawaii's LGBTQ+ youth. Your Committees additionally respectfully request your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of $300,000.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services & Homelessness that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1562, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1562, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services & Homelessness,

____________________________ LISA MARTEN, Chair

____________________________ GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair