House Advances Medical Aid in Dying Bill

The State House on Tuesday advanced the “Our Care, Our Choice” bill on medical aid in dying.  The bill was among a list of 128 measures that passed third reading and now advance to the Senate for further review.  Other bills aim to address the removal of abandoned vehicles, make bump stocks on guns illegal, prohibit liquor consumption in nearshore waters, fund ambulance services, support the Pu‘uhonua homeless village, and provide more electric vehicle support in Hawaii.

House Speaker Scott K. Saiki said lawmakers are addressing a number of critical issues including needed services for homeless people, supporting affordable housing for low- and middle-income working families, and protecting the people of Hawaiʻi.

“When we began this legislative session, the House of Representatives took the position that we would prioritize critical, unfinished business. This included medical aid in dying and homelessness and housing initiatives,” said Representative Saiki (McCully, Kāheka, Kakaʻako, Downtown).  “Housemembers have taken tough positions on complicated issues because they, like the general public, do not want to defer decisions on some of the most important issues facing our state.”

Below are some highlighted legislative items:

HOUSING/HOMELESSNESS

HB2014 Requires the Governor to identify available state land for the establishment of a homelessness village and establishes the Pu‘uhonua Homeless Villages program.

HB2021 Requires the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the Department of Health, to establish a pilot project to operate a facility to provide shelter and mental health treatment for homeless individuals with severe mental illness.

HB2746 Amends Act 127, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, to clarify the duties of the Special Action Team on Affordable Rental Housing. The bill ensures that the Special Action Team focuses on the creation of rental housing for extremely low-income households.

HB2750 Amends the basis and rate for the conveyance tax, exempts affordable housing projects from the tax, and increases allocations of the conveyance tax to the Land Conservation Fund and the Rental Housing Revolving Fund.

HB2748 Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to conduct a study on the current and future demand and supply of affordable housing suitable for individuals with special needs.

HB2694 Requires the Department of Health to waive all fees for the issuance of certified copies of birth certificates for any individual who is homeless, provided the individual’s homeless status is corroborated by a verification letter issued by a homeless service provider.

HB2747 Encourages first-time homebuyers to save for the purchase of a home by making changes to the Individual Housing Accounts which are savings vehicles that help people buy their first homes

PUBLIC SAFETY

HB1908 Prohibits manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, and possession of bump fire stocks, multiburst trigger activators, and trigger cranks.

HB2617 Prohibits liquor consumption by bathers within one thousand yards of any beach or shoreline in the State.

HB2051 Appropriates funds for grants to maintain the weed and seed strategy, which is a collaborative effort to reclaim, restore, and rebuild communities.

HB1849 Requires police departments to disclose to the Legislature the identity of an officer upon the officer’s second or subsequent suspension in a five‑year period or discharge.

HB2454 Establishes a three-year Correctional Industries Former Inmate Employment Pilot Project within the Department of Public Safety to assist former inmates as they reenter society.

HB2070 Requires the Attorney General to investigate an alleged violation of state law by a county police officer if the prosecuting attorney of the county that employs the police officer has declined to prosecute the police officer and the victim of the alleged violation submits a written request to investigate the alleged violation.

HB2133 Specifies that citizen complaints against a police officer that involve allegations of domestic abuse by the police officer against a family or household member shall not be required to be filed as a notarized or sworn written statement.

HB2588 Authorizes the courts to impose an extended term of imprisonment for an offender who is convicted of negligent homicide in the first degree and did not remain at the scene of the crime and render reasonable assistance to an injured person.

HB2481 Makes it easier to arrest people for illegal dumping of garbage. Clarifies that probable cause for arrests by law enforcement officers of illegal dumping offenders may be based upon statements from witnesses and photographs, video, and other recordings that can be authenticated by one or more witnesses.

HB2399 Clarifies the definition of “drug” for purposes of the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. This measure specifies that a drug for these purposes includes any substance that can impair the ability of a person to operate a vehicle safely.

HEALTH

HB2739  Our Care, Our Choice bill. Establishes a regulated process under which an adult resident of the State with a medically confirmed terminal disease and less than six months to live may choose to obtain a prescription for medication to end their life.

HB1602 Permits the inclusion of a label warning of the risks of addiction and death on the packaging of any opioid drug dispensed by a health care professional or pharmacist.

HB2741 Establishes the Medical Cannabis Insurance Reimbursement Working Group to address the complexities surrounding the topic of making medical cannabis reimbursable by health insurance.

HB2384 Supports the efforts to prevent opioid epidemic. Updates Uniform Controlled Substances Act for consistency with federal law. Allows prescription of drugs to patients undergoing medically managed withdrawal, also known as detoxification treatment and maintenance treatment, by practitioners who are properly registered.

HB2399 Clarifies the definition of “drug” in chapter 291E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, regarding the use of intoxicants while operating a vehicle to include any substance that impairs a person.

HB1676 Appropriates money to the Department of Health for ambulances throughout the state.

HB2391 Supports and enhances implementation of a balanced and coordinated public safety/public health strategy to address opioid and other substance abuse issues in our state.  Authorizes disclosure of information collected by the Electronic Prescription Accountability System to authorized employees of the Department of Health’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division and Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention System Branch.

HOTEL ROOM TAX/TOURISM

HB2605 Provides that a county shall be eligible to receive an unspecified amount from the State for the purpose of enforcing all applicable laws and ordinances relating to transient accommodations, provided that no funds shall be released to a county until it has satisfactorily complied with specified conditions. Makes an appropriation from TAT revenues.

HB1828 Allocates matching funds from transient accommodations tax revenues to the Hawaii Tourism Authority to support initiatives, in conjunction with the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, to mitigate the negative impacts on communities caused by tourism activity.

HB2010 Forgives the debt owed to the State by the Hawaii Tourism Authority for Convention Center construction costs and related interest. Amends the transient accommodations tax revenue allocation to the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

HB2698 Appropriates moneys for the commemoration of the centennial anniversary of World War I and the men and women who served in the war.

ENVIRONMENT

HB2106 Requires the Environmental Council to adopt and maintain rules requiring all environmental assessments and environmental impact statements prepared pursuant to HRS Chapter 343 to include consideration of sea level rise based on the best available scientific data regarding sea level rise.

HB2107 Establishes the Plastic Pollution Initiative Program with the mission to eliminate plastic waste impacting native species and polluting the State’s environment. Establishes the Plastic Pollution Advisory Council to collect data regarding plastic pollution and provide recommendations to eliminate plastic waste.

HB2274 Expands the State’s existing electric vehicle charging requirements to include parking lots for multi-unit buildings and workplaces.

HB2653 Supports a managed and orderly shoreline retreat strategy in the case of sea level rise by authorizing the Board of Land and Natural Resources to provide qualified coastal landowners, who have privately owned structures situated on previously private land that has become submerged public land due to erosion and sea level rise, with short duration term easements at values determined by the board to enable these landowners to consider alternatives to ultimately relocate these private structures landward of the shoreline setback line.

LABOR

HB2598 Requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to establish paid family leave for all workers by January 1, 2020.  The bill provides the foundation to implement a framework of laws and policies for paid family leave so that all employees can access leave benefits during times when they need to provide care for a family member.

HB2137 The purpose of this measure is to address pay disparity between men and women who do similar work. Prohibits prospective employers from requesting or considering a job applicant’s wage or salary history as part of an employment application process or compensation offer. Prohibits enforced wage secrecy and retaliation or discrimination against employees who disclose, discuss, or inquire about their own or coworkers’ wages.

JUDICIARY

HB1850 Clarifies that the offense of promoting pornography for minors does not apply to a legal guardian of a minor.

HB1852 Clarifies that the prurient interest referenced in the definition of “pornographic for minors” does not relate specifically to the minor.

HB1847 Extends the period during which a victim of child sexual abuse may bring an otherwise time-barred civil action against the victim’s abuser or an entity with a duty of care.

HB1851 Defines “in loco parentis” for purposes of exemption under Hawaii’s obscenity laws.

HB1650 Authorizes disclosure of the disposition of an assessment from an investigation into an allegation or report of child abuse and neglect that was confirmed by DHS and occurred within a group child care home or a group child care center to parents or guardians of a child enrolled in the home or center at the time of the alleged abuse or neglect or to parents or guardians who have submitted an application or request to place their children in that home or center.

HB2072 Prohibits certain restraints and tethers that endanger, or deny sustenance, to a dog.

HB1906 Makes intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury to a health care worker a Class C felony.

TRANSPORTATION

HB2442 Requires the counties to take custody of abandoned vehicles on public roads within 10 business days. Removes the requirement that written notice be sent to the abandoned vehicle’s owner. Requires the designated agency to give the abandoned vehicle’s owner 20 business days to claim the vehicle, unless it is reported as stolen. Authorizes the designated county agency to waive the requirements for public auction in all cases. Specifies that a vehicle shall be considered derelict if there is no current registration for the vehicle.

HB1632 Requires all individuals operating a bicycle to ride within a bicycle lane, if a bicycle lane is available for use, and provides for the assessment of fines for each violation.

HB1620 Establishes the Vehicle Repair Practices Task Force to study and report on vehicle repairs made with original equipment manufacturer parts versus aftermarket parts and the effects of the use of such parts on automobile insurance coverage and costs.

HB2589 Authorizes the Department of Transportation under certain conditions to designate shoulders upon which the Department may authorize the driving of motorcycles.

TECHNOLOGY

HB2651 Establishes a process to upgrade and support next-generation wireless broadband infrastructure throughout the State. Establishes a permitting, application, review, and approval process for broadband or wireless service providers to install broadband or wireless facilities on state or county solely-owned utility poles, or install associated utility poles, in the right of way.

HB2471 Creates the Hawaii Digital Gaming Commission within the Office of Consumer Protection to oversee and monitor predatory and exploitative practices in digital games.

HB2727 Establishes certain disclosure requirements for publishers of video games that contain a system of purchasing a randomized reward.

AGRICULTURE

HB2670 Requires the Department of Agriculture to create a farmers’ market dollar-for-dollar matching program for beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

CAMPAIGN SPENDING

HB1659 Repeals the requirement that noncandidate committee organizational reports include information regarding contributions.

HB1661 Requires a candidate committee or noncandidate committee to inform the Campaign Spending Commission if the candidate committee or noncandidate committee does not intend to receive or spend contributions and expenditures that aggregate more than $1,000 in an election period.

Click here for a list of all bills passed by the House of Representative so far this session.