Establishes a working group within the Judiciary to improve family court processes, including access to legal representation for youth in the child welfare system. Appropriates funds for the working group. Effective 3/22/2075. (SD1)
Declares that the State is an ocean cluster. Establishes the Office of Marine Affairs within the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation for administrative purposes only. Establishes and appropriates funds for the Marine Affairs Coordinator position. Requires the Marine Affairs Coordinator to submit annual reports to the Governor and Legislature. Transfers the functions of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Marine Affairs to the Office of Marine Affairs. Appropriates funds for the Office of Marine Affairs to procure the services of a consultant to support the marine affairs declaration of intent. Effective 7/1/3050. (SD1)
Clarifies that public charter school teachers are eligible for incentives under the Teacher National Board Certification Incentive Program. Effective 7/31/2055. (SD1)
Establishes the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy Special Fund to support pharmacist workforce assessment and planning efforts. Establishes the pharmacist workforce assessment fee. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/31/2055. (SD1)
Provides certain liability protections for nonprofit child welfare service organizations that are under contract with the Department of Human Services to provide child welfare services to children and families. Prohibits contracts between nonprofit child welfare service organizations and the State from including indemnification and hold harmless provisions and from requiring either party to name the other as an additional insured in their respective liability insurance policies. Prohibits pre- and post-judgment interest and punitive damages for nonprofit child welfare service organizations. Requires actions against nonprofit child welfare service organizations to be tried by the court, except in certain circumstances. Removes joint and several liability for nonprofit child welfare service organizations. Specifies that no bond shall be required from a nonprofit child welfare service organization on appeal. Effective 1/30/2050. (SD1)
Part I: Allows counties to use time-stamped screenshots as evidence for the enforcement of transient accommodations. Requires the Hawaii Tourism Authority's plans, practices, and efforts involving destination management to include promotion of use of traditional or lawful transient accommodations. Clarifies that the counties may use revenue from the County Transient Accommodations Tax for the enforcement of transient accommodations. Appropriates funds. Part II: Requires hosting platforms that earn service fees for providing booking services for transient accommodations to register with the Department of Taxation as tax collection agents and report, collect, and remit general excise and transient accommodations taxes on behalf of operators. Part II effective 1/1/2027. Effective 7/1/3050. (SD1)
Establishes a Cesspool Conversion Implementation Working Group to assist the Department of Health in a review of the Department's administrative rules and practices regarding wastewater systems and cesspools and in the development of proposed changes to make cesspool conversions more affordable. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds for positions and hiring of a consultant to assist the Cesspool Conversion Implementation Working Group. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)
Appropriates funds to the Department of Health to purchase one advanced life support ambulance and related equipment to be based in central Maui, fund pay-related personnel costs for state-certified emergency medical services personnel, and increase the predictability and stability of available air ambulance services for all islands in the State. Effective 1/31/2050. (SD1)
Establishes a five-year pilot program to authorize the Department of Education to rehire retired teachers and educational officers for hard-to-staff positions. Sunsets 6/30/2031. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)
Maddy summaryHB 2159 funds health care workforce development programs at the University of Hawaii. It appropriates state funds to establish new positions within the university focused on training and supporting health care workers. This bill directly affects the University of Hawaii's ability to expand its health care workforce initiatives. The key provision is the allocation of dedicated funding to create these new roles, aiming to strengthen Hawaii's health care workforce pipeline.
