HB 1515 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Summary

Authorizes an attending physician to request a functional capacity examination and refer an injured employee for the examination without first obtaining permission from the employee's employer in order to assess the employee's ability to return to work. Allows licensed occupational and physical therapists to be deemed qualified to perform functional capacity examinations. (CD1)

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed Jun 24, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1515_HD2 → HB1515_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill updates the effective date of the legislation from July 1, 3000 to January 1, 2077, likely to align with a future legislative cycle or correct a clerical error. It also refines the criteria for functional capacity examinations, clarifying that they are triggered when an employee's capacity to work is in question rather than strictly when they are permanently unable to return to work. Additionally, the definition of a functional capacity examination report was broadened to include recommendations for returning to work with or without restrictions.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on workers' compensation examinations, but the trigger for ordering these exams has been broadened to include cases where an employee's ability to work is uncertain, rather than only when permanent disability is established.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 3000 to January 1, 2077.

ELIGIBILITY

The condition for requesting a functional capacity examination was updated to apply whenever an employee's capacity to work is in question, expanding eligibility beyond cases of permanent inability to return to work.

DEFINITION

The definition of a functional capacity examination report was updated to explicitly include recommendations for returning to work with or without restrictions.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

lower

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Fukunaga).

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-01-26

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 34-26).

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 34-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Kanuha; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lamosao.

upper

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Matayoshi, Lee, M., Kapela, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Apr 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 9:00AM in conference room 016.

lower

Apr 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Monday 04-27-26 9:00AM in conference room 016.

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 04-24-26 8:45AM in conference room 016.

lower

Apr 20, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to LAB, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 30

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 577) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-09-26 10:55AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3352) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in LBT were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Lamosao, Moriwaki; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara, Fevella.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 03-23-26 3:01PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to LBT, WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 235).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Grandinetti, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Kong, Lowen, Tam; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Iwamoto, Marten, Pierick.

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 632-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Kong, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to LAB, CPC, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

11 primary · 0 co-sponsors