STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2422
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 2845
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2026
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2845 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to:
(1) Prohibit persons from interfering with another person's access to or from a health care facility or disrupting the normal functioning of a health care facility;
(2) Make violations a petty misdemeanor;
(3) Establish a private right of action for individuals and health care facilities harmed as a result of interference with a health care facility; and
(4) Authorize the Attorney General to bring an action for injunctive or other equitable relief.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Health Planning and Development Agency; Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women; Hawaiʻi State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Plus Commission; HOKU PAC; Pride at Work–Hawaiʻi; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association; Indivisible Hawaiʻi Healthcare Team; American Association of University Women of Hawaiʻi; Stonewall Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Hawaii Women Lawyers; Visibility Brigade Honolulu; Indivisible Leeward Oahu; Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates–Hawaiʻi; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Hawaiʻi Section; Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center; Hawaii State Democratic Women's Caucus; YWCA of Kauai; and over one hundred individuals.
Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Hawaiʻi Family Forum and one individual.
Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; Department of Health; and Hawaiʻi Nurses' Association, OPEIU Local 50.
Your Committee finds that individuals seeking or providing health care should be able to access health care facilities without fear, intimidation, or any form of harassment. Your Committee further finds that there is a need to create a comprehensive framework to deter harmful conduct and ensure accountability for obstructing access or disrupting operations at health care facilities. This measure keeps the State's health care facilities secure, orderly, and responsive for anyone who needs care.
Your Committee has
amended this measure by:
(1) Deleting
language that would have made the prohibition on interference with health care
facilities not apply to actions taken as part of a labor demonstration or when
exercising the right to strike,
to address potential constitutional concerns arising from content-based
distinctions under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and
article I, section 4, of the Hawaii State Constitution;
(A) Inserting language to clarify that the duty arises only upon motion by an interested
party, rather than on the court's own initiative; and
(B) Deleting
language specifying the use of protective orders and motions in limine, to
preserve the court's discretion regarding appropriate procedural safeguards;
and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2845, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2845, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,
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________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
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