STAND. COM. REP. NO. 361-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2314

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. 2314 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SYSTEMS OF CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to update the State's emergency medical services laws to establish a comprehensive, time-sensitive, emergency medical systems of care model.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges; Emergency Medical Services & Injury Prevention System Branch, Department of Health; State Health Planning and Development Agency; and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that the State's emergency medical services system has been instrumental in ensuring a degree of equity to critical health services for residents on all islands due to its comprehensive reach and one hundred percent full-time professional staffing. Technologies related to health care, communication, and transportation have evolved exponentially, but implementation has been uneven due to resource constraints and a cumbersome governance framework. A comprehensive modernization of emergency medical services-related statutes that aligns with national best practices and streamlines program governance is required to ensure that the State's emergency medical services system is managed more strategically. This measure therefore implements the essential task of modernizing the State's emergency medical systems of care laws.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the definition of "emergency medical services personnel";

(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. 2314, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2314, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

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

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair