STAND. COM. REP. NO. 50-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1996

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. 1996 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEARING AIDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to exempt gross receipts from the sale of hearing aids received by a hospital, infirmary, medical clinic, health care facility, pharmacy, or practitioner licensed to administer drugs to an individual from the general excise tax.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Disability and Communications Access Board and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that hearing loss affects approximately two-thirds of adults aged seventy years or older and is associated with accelerated cognitive decline, depression, social isolation, falls, and higher health care expenditures. Your Committee further finds that cost is often the primary barrier preventing persons with hearing loss from wearing hearing aids, with costs for a single hearing aid ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. This measure is intended to reduce out-of-pocket costs and promote health equity by exempting hearing aids from the general excise tax.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing the sunset provision;

(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.

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. 1996, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1996, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Economic Development & Technology.

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

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair