STAND. COM. REP. NO. 158-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2343

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. 2343 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERANS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to repeal the June 30, 2027, deadline for the transfer of the Maui State Veterans Home and instead require the transfer of the Maui State Veterans Home to be completed as soon as practicable.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense; Office of Veterans Services; and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Oahu Region.

Your Committee finds that state veterans homes are facilities that provide eligible veterans with nursing home care, domiciliary care, or adult day care. These facilities are owned and operated by state governments and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs State Home Program provides an economical alternative to constructing, maintaining, and operating facilities for the provision of care to eligible veterans.

Your Committee further finds that the Maui State Veterans Home would be the third state veterans home in Hawaii and will provide the State with an additional sixty residential long-term care beds to serve Hawaii veterans and their families. However, there are concerns that the statutorily mandated transfer deadline of July 1, 2027, could create unnecessary risk if an appropriate Maui-affiliated state agency is not identified or fully prepared to assume ownership and operational oversight responsibilities by that time. To avoid this risk, this measure repeals the statutory deadline and allows the transition to occur as soon as practicable.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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. 2343, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2343, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Public Safety.

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

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair