KA ‘AHA KENEKOA
THE THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2026
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Senator Joy A. San Buenaventura, Chair |
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Senator Angus L.K. McKelvey, Vice Chair |
NOTICE OF HEARING
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DATE: |
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 |
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TIME: |
1:00 PM |
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PLACE: |
Conference Room 225 & Videoconference State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street |
PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRANCE TO THE STATE CAPITOL
BUILDING HOURS: 7AM TO 5PM, MONDAY - FRIDAY
The Legislature is accepting written, videoconference, and in-person testimony at public hearings.
A live stream of all Senate Standing Committee meetings will be available on the Senate YouTube Channel.
A G E N D A
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RELATING TO MEDICAL DEBT. Requires the Office of Wellness and Resilience to develop, implement, and administer a Medical Debt Acquisition and Forgiveness Program to acquire and forgive outstanding medical debt for certain individuals in the State beginning with the medical debt of the 50,016 Hawaii residents that has already been acquired by medical debt and consolidation organizations. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH. Establishes the Mental Health Emerging Therapies Task Force to prepare the State for the integration of breakthrough therapies, expansion of pathways for clinical trials and clinical research, and development of policy recommendations for safe, ethical, and culturally informed implementation of emerging therapies. Requires reports to the Legislature. Sunsets 6/30/2028.
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO MEDICAID. Appropriates moneys to the Department of Human Services to increase funding for certain Medicaid home- and community-based services, including residential services offered in community care foster family homes and expanded adult residential care homes. Requires the Department to obtain matching federal funds and to pursue additional funding sources.
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS. Establishes a three-year homelessness sanctuary pilot program to be administered by the Coordinator on Homelessness on designated land for the pilot program, which shall serve as a safe location for unhoused women and young children, under the age of ten, to reside and access services. Requires the Coordinator on Homelessness and the Coordinator's partner agencies to provide certain facilities and services to the designated location. Requires reporting to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO MEDICAL CANNABIS. Repeals statutory language that currently authorizes the Department of Law Enforcement to: (1) inspect a qualifying medical cannabis patient's medical records held by the health provider who issued a written certification for the qualifying patient; and (2) suspend or revoke a health provider's ability to issue written certification for medical cannabis if the provider refuses the foregoing inspection, or if the medical records do not comply with the medical use of cannabis law.
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HHS, JDC |
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RELATING TO COMPASSIONATE ACCESS TO MEDICAL CANNABIS. Allows terminally ill patients and qualifying patients over sixty-five years of age with chronic diseases to use medical cannabis within specified health care facilities under certain conditions. Requires enforcement by the Department of Health.
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HHS, JDC |
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RELATING TO THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. Requires the Department of Human Services to adjust the minimum certification periods for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits households, participate in the Elderly Simplified Application Project, and report to the Legislature.
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL. Designates the Statewide Independent Living Council of Hawaii as the State's statewide independent living council to comply with federal requirements.
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HHS, JDC |
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RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS. Establishes a general excise tax exemption for the gross proceeds or income from the sale of groceries that are eligible under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, regardless of the means of purchase and the program eligibility of the purchaser; nonprescription drugs and medical supplies; feminine hygiene products; and diapers. Effective 1/1/2027.
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HHS, WAM |
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RELATING TO NOISE. Prohibits the operation of privately owned and operated refuse collection vehicles before 6:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. within 500 feet of any area zoned for mixed-use or residential apartment use within any county having a population of 500,000 or more.
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HHS, JDC |
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RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS. Appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services for the funding of a medical respite program in Honolulu and the Homeless Outreach and Navigation for Unsheltered Persons Program under the Ohana Zones Program, and for the expenses of the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions. Appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii to conduct a survey on statewide homelessness.
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HHS, WAM |
Decision Making to follow, if time permits.
All testimony received by the Hawai‘i Senate is posted on the Hawai‘i Legislature's website, which is accessible to the public. Please do not include private information that you do not want disclosed to the public.
Please go to the Legislature's website, https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov, to submit written testimony at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. Create a free account on the website, or sign in to an existing account, then click on the "Participate" drop down menu and select the "Submit Testimony" option to get started. While submitting your written testimony, you will be prompted to indicate if you would also like to testify at the hearing in-person or remotely via videoconference.
Please note the following:
· The number of oral testifiers and/or time allotted to each testifier may be limited by the Chair when necessary to adhere to the committee hearing schedule. We may not be able to accommodate everyone who requests to testify orally.
· Testifiers for this hearing will be limited to 1 minutes each.
If you wish to testify via videoconference during the hearing, please review the detailed step-by-step instructions for testimony procedures before you submit your written testimony. Here's a direct link to the instructions: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/docs/testimonyinstructions.pdf
For general help navigating the committee hearing process, please contact the Public Access Room at (808) 587-0478 or par@capitol.hawaii.gov. You can also visit their website at https://lrb.hawaii.gov/par/.
For special assistance: The cable TV broadcast and/or live stream of this meeting will include closed captioning. If you need an auxiliary aid/service or other accommodation due to a disability, please call the committee clerk at the telephone number listed below or email HHScommittee@capitol.hawaii.gov. Requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.
For amended notices: Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are underscored. If a measure is both underscored and stricken through, that measure has been deleted from the agenda.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT 808-586-6890.
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_____________________________________ Senator Joy A. San Buenaventura Chair |