HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THE THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2026
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Rep. David A. Tarnas, Chair |
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Rep. Mahina Poepoe, Vice Chair |
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Rep. Della Au Belatti |
Rep. Jackson D. Sayama |
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Rep. Elle Cochran |
Rep. Gregg Takayama |
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Rep. Mark J. Hashem |
Rep. Diamond Garcia |
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Rep. Kirstin Kahaloa |
Rep. Garner M. Shimizu |
NOTICE OF HEARING
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DATE: |
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 |
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TIME: |
2:00 PM |
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PLACE: |
VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE Conference Room 325 State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street |
Click here to submit testimony and to testify remotely or in person.
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A G E N D A
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RELATING TO HEALTH CARE. Expands the protections established under Act 2, SLH 2023, to include gender-affirming health care services, including clarifying permitted disclosures of protected health information to address changes in federal regulations. Establishes protections against abusive litigation. Prohibits medical malpractice insurers and health carriers from taking certain adverse actions against health care providers solely on the basis that the health care provider provides lawful reproductive health care services or gender-affirming care services. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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HLT/CPC, JHA |
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RELATING TO VITAL STATISTICS. Amends the various requirements in the event of a fetal death, including registration of certain fetal deaths, filing and preparation of a certificate of fetal death, and issuance of a permit for removal, burial, or other disposition. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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HLT, JHA |
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RELATING TO HEALTH CARE. Prohibits 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. Makes violations a petty misdemeanor. Establishes a private right of action. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action for injunctive or other equitable relief. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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HLT, JHA |
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RELATING TO BACKGROUND CHECKS. Authorizes applicants, operators, and third-party employers, rather than the Department of Health, to conduct background checks of employees and adult volunteers at healthcare facilities. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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HLT, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT. Amends the definition of "development," as it pertains to coastal zone management, to clarify that certain activities are excluded from the definition of "development" and are not subject to special management area use permit requirements and to exempt state- or county-sponsored infrastructure improvement projects that are consistent with the applicable county's community plans. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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WAL, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION. Except for Important Agricultural Lands, requires the Land Use Commission to reclassify lands that are designated for urban growth under a county general plan or county development plan as being in the urban district at the request of the county, subject to certain conditions. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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WAL, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION. Specifies that a simple majority of affirmative votes of the members of the Land Use Commission present at a meeting and qualified to vote is required for any boundary amendment. Clarifies that a majority of all members to which the Land Use Commission is entitled shall be necessary to constitute a quorum. Clarifies that a two-thirds vote shall be necessary for actions taken by the Land Use Commission regarding Important Agricultural Lands. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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WAL, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION. Amends the composition of the Land Use Commission to require at least one member who has substantial experience and expertise in water resource management and at least one member who has substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian land usage and knowledge of cultural land practices. Requires the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to submit a list of nominees to the Governor for the appointment of a commission member having substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian land usage and knowledge of cultural land practices. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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WAL, JHA |
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RELATING TO ISLAND BURIAL COUNCILS. Extends the time to fill vacancies that occur during an Island Burial Council member's term. Provides per diem compensation in the form of a stipend for Island Burial Council members representing geographic regions. Revises the Island Burial Councils' quorum for business to be a majority of the appointed council members. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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WAL, JHA |
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RELATING TO INJURIOUS MATERIALS. Prohibits placing, dropping, or leaving destructive or injurious materials on highways, lanes, roads, streets, and alleys. Establishes penalties. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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TRN, JHA |
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RELATING TO DOG ATTACKS. Clarifies owner liability and increases penalties and enforcement mechanisms for dog attacks on livestock on land or premises within the agricultural district. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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AGR, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT. Updates chapter 329, HRS, to make it consistent with amendments in the Federal Controlled Substances Act as required under section 329-11, HRS.
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JHA |
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RELATING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING. Requires the Department of the Attorney General to develop a Human Trafficking Awareness Training Program to educate and train workers in the transient accommodations sector. Requires transient accommodations employers or transient accommodations third-party contractors to periodically provide the human trafficking awareness training to certain employees and contract workers, keep records of the training, post signage, and develop and implement a human trafficking prevention policy that includes procedures for the reporting of suspected human trafficking. Establishes penalties. Requires the Department of Law Enforcement to adopt rules. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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TOU, LAB, JHA |
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RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. Removes the Adjutant General as a nonvoting ex-officio member of the Hawaii Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee. Adds the Administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency as a nonvoting ex-officio member of the EMSAC.
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PBS, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE SAFETY OF EDUCATIONAL WORKERS. Requires the Department of Education and public charter schools to take certain steps to report incidents of harassment and implement procedures for handling harassment of educational workers. Elevates the penalty for harassment to a misdemeanor when the recipient is an educational worker. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
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EDN, LAB, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE HARM TO STUDENTS REGISTRY. Clarifies the scope of the Department of Education's harm-to-students registry by providing that contractors and volunteers are included only if their roles involves interaction with students, and by excluding K-12 students. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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EDN, JHA |
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RELATING TO STUDENT MISCONDUCT. Requires public schools to report to the Department of Education any incident involving physical violence. Requires the Department of Education to collect and maintain data on incidents involving physical violence at public schools and make such data publicly available. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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EDN, JHA |
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RELATING TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. Requires the exclusive representative for bargaining unit (5) to appoint to the Board of Education a nonvoting public school teacher representative. Authorizes the nonvoting public school teacher representative to participate in all Board of Education meetings and enter into executive sessions, except in certain matters related to collective bargaining negotiations or personnel matters that may pose a conflict of interest. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
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EDN, LAB, JHA |
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RELATING TO LOVE MY LIBRARY DAY. Designates the first Friday in February of each year as "Love My Library Day" in the State. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)
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CAA, JHA |
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DECISION MAKING TO FOLLOW
Persons wishing to offer comments should submit testimony at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. Testimony received after this time will be stamped late and left to the discretion of the chair to consider. While every effort will be made to incorporate all testimony received, materials received on the day of the hearing or improperly identified or directed, may not be processed.
Testimony submitted will be placed on the legislative website. This public posting of testimony on the website should be considered when including personal information in your testimony.
The chair may institute a per-testifier time limit.
Committees meeting in the morning must adjourn prior to the day's Floor Session. Therefore, due to time constraints, not all testifiers may be provided an opportunity to offer verbal comments. However, written submissions will be considered by the committee.
Please refrain from profanity or uncivil behavior. Violations may result in ejection from the hearing without the ability to rejoin.
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FOR AMENDED NOTICES: Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are bolded.
For more information, please contact the Committee Clerk at (808) 586-6325.
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________________________________________ Rep. David A. Tarnas Chair |
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