SB 1591 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO AVIAN INFLUENZA.

SB 1591 allocates state funds to Hawaii's Department of Health and Department of Agriculture to prevent, monitor, and respond to avian influenza outbreaks. The bill directly affects public health and agricultural sectors in Hawaii by providing resources for disease surveillance, rapid response efforts, and prevention measures. Key provisions include funding for testing, containment strategies, and coordination between health and agriculture agencies to protect both human and animal health. This represents a concrete policy change focused on strengthening Hawaii's preparedness for avian influenza threats.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Sub-Topics: Public Health

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB1591 → SB1591_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill update expands the scope of avian influenza response efforts by explicitly including humans and wastewater in testing protocols, alongside existing bird testing. The document also updates administrative metadata to reflect the Senate's first reading (SD1) and adjusts the appropriation description to use the plural form 'Appropriations'. These changes ensure the legislation addresses potential human health risks and environmental vectors more comprehensively while maintaining the core goal of funding disease prevention.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include testing of humans and wastewater, broadening the response strategy beyond just bird testing.

REQUIREMENT

Added humans and wastewater to the list of subjects for increased testing to better understand virus spread and impacts on human health.

TECHNICAL

Updated the appropriation description from 'Appropriation' to 'Appropriations'.

Changed the bill status header from 'HB' (House Bill) to 'SMA' (Senate Message) and 'Bill SD' (Senate Draft), indicating it has moved to the Senate.

Updated revision numbers and timestamps to reflect the Senate's first reading stage.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from HHS/AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 633) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Hashimoto, Keohokalole; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

upper

Feb 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Richards, DeCoite, Rhoads, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS/AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-07-25 2:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 27, 2025

Committee

Referred to HHS/AEN, WAM.

upper

Jan 23, 2025

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors