STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3307

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1976

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1976, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DEMENTIA,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require:

(1) The Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, fire chiefs, Law Enforcement Standards Board, and Department of Health to provide at least one hour of dementia-specific training for first responders, including law enforcement officers, fire first responders, and emergency medical services personnel;

(2) First responders to complete at least one hour of dementia-specific training annually and the first training to be completed by June 30, 2028; and

(3) The Executive Office on Aging to take certain steps when reviewing and recommending dementia-specific training curricula.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Aging, Disability and Communication Access Board, Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, AARP Hawaiʻi, Alzheimer's Association-Hawaii, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association, LeadingAge Pacific West, Alzheimer's Caregiving & The Caregivers, Hear 4 Hope, and twenty individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Law Enforcement Standards Board and Hawaiʻi Police Department.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency.

Your Committees find that Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are an urgent and growing public health challenge in the State. Approximately 31,200 state residents aged sixty-five years or older currently live with Alzheimer's, disease, and long-term trends indicate that this figure could double to approximately sixty-two thousand individuals by 2050. Your Committees further find that police, emergency medical services, and fire department personnel are frequently the first responders who respond to dementia-related incidents, yet often lack the dementia-specific training needed to effectively assist in these situations, which may lead to confusion and unnecessary escalation. This measure improves recognition, communication, and de-escalation skills relating to dementia to reduce preventable hospitalizations, emergency interventions, and crises, while strengthening community safety and resilience.

Your Committees acknowledges the concerns raised in testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaiʻi Police Department that existing training already includes communication skills, de‑escalation techniques, crisis intervention, and procedures for assisting vulnerable populations. However, your Committees note that general mental health training is very different from dementia-specific training, and it is imperative that first responders be aware of the key distinctions.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Authorizing, rather than requiring, first responders, including emergency management personnel, law enforcement officers, fire first responders, and emergency medical services personnel, to complete at least one hour of dementia-specific training annually;

(2) Deleting language that would have required first responders to complete the first annual training cycle by June 30, 2028;

(3) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1976, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1976, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Public Safety and Military Affairs,

________________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair