STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1399-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 3199

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 3199, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a two-year Mental Health Emerging Therapies Task Force to prepare the State for the integration of federally scheduled breakthrough therapies.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Office of Wellness and Resilience; State Health Planning and Development Agency; Disability and Communication Access Board; State Council on Mental Health; Clarity Project; Hawaii Radiant Health; Aloha Integrative Mental Health; Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions; Aloha Independent Living Hawaii; Reason for Hope; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; Department of Law Enforcement; and Compass Pathways.

Your Committee finds that a growing body of research demonstrates that certain emerging therapies, such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin-assisted therapies, show significant efficacy and positive clinical outcomes in treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, and treatment-resistant depression. Your Committee further finds that the United States Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough therapy designation to these therapies, which may result in federal rescheduling and approval. Your Committee believes that it would be prudent for the State to proactively prepare public health, clinical, and research systems for implementation of these therapies to ensure Hawaii residents have safe, ethical, and equitable access to these treatments.

Your Committee notes the concerns raised in testimony by the State Health Planning and Development Agency that the pharmacologic agents used in these emerging therapies are still considered illegal under federal law and that the task force should therefore proceed with caution.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Placing the task force within the University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine and requiring the representative from the University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine, rather than the representative from the University of Hawaii at Manoa Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, to serve as chair of the task force;

(2) Requiring the Narcotics Enforcement Division of the Department of Law Enforcement, rather than the Board of Psychology, to control, schedule, or deschedule a drug or treatment designated as a breakthrough therapy by the United States Food and Drug Administration that has been scheduled, rescheduled, or desceduled as a controlled substance under federal law within thirty days, rather than ninety days, after publication of the applicable notice in the Federal Register or interim final order; 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 S.B. No. 3199, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3199, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair