STAND. COM. REP. NO. 365-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1858

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. 1858 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VITAL STATISTICS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend various requirements in the event of a fetal death, including registration of certain fetal deaths, filing and preparation of a certificate of fetal death, and issuance of a permit for removal, burial, or other disposition.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women; Hawaii Funeral & Cemetery Association; Hawaii Medical Association; Hawaiʻi Pacific Health; Hawaii Women's Coalition; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Hawaiʻi Section; Hawaiʻi Academy of Family Physicians Legislative Committee; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that according to National Vital Statistic System data, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders have one of the highest rates of fetal death in the United States. However, the State lacks the comprehensive, reliable data needed to understand and address the causes behind the disparity in rates of fetal death among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Your Committee further finds that existing state law requires the submission of a report of fetal death for every fetal death, including first-trimester miscarriages. This is a largely unrealistic requirement, as these types of miscarriages typically occur at home and will never result in a complete or accurate dataset of fetal deaths in Hawaii. Your Committee finds that improving the quality of fetal death data in Hawaii, as proposed by this measure, will enable the State to develop targeted prevention and education efforts to reduce fetal deaths in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring the health care provider who certified the fetal death by miscarriage for miscarriages less than twenty weeks gestation or three hundred fifty grams, rather than the state registrar, to issue documentation of the fetal death to the birthing parent upon request of the birthing parent;

(2) Specifying the documentation provided by the health care provider has no legal standing as a bona fide government record;

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

(4) 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. 1858, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1858, 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