STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1048-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2323

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2323, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend the Workers' Compensation Law to:

(1) Repeal outdated mail and triplicate form requirements; and

(2) Require electronic submission of various reports to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Human Resources Development; Hawaii Medical Association; University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; Work Injury Medical Association of Hawaiʻi; and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the Disability Compensation Division of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations implemented a modern electronic case management system in January 2024 that integrates the Workers' Compensation, Temporary Disability Insurance, and Prepaid Health Care programs and provides real-time electronic filing, reporting, and claim status access. Your Committee further finds that mandatory electronic filing enables real-time access, reduces processing delays, and ensures timely delivery of medical services and benefits to injured workers. This measure aligns statutory requirements with the Disability Compensation Division's modernized system, which will provide the legal and operational foundation necessary for the automation initiative to succeed.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying how a physician transmits a treatment plan to an employer;

(2) Clarifying the timeframe for when an employer must submit an objection to a vocational rehabilitation plan and when a vocational rehabilitation plan is deemed received by an employer; 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 Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2323, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2323, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair