Sen. Sharon Moriwaki

Establishes the Shipping Container Inspection Program. Requires the Department of Law Enforcement to submit reports to the Legislature on implementation of the Shipping Container Inspection Program. Exempts employees of the Department of Transportation and DLE from personal liability under certain conditions. Requires any damages to container goods be borne by the State. Requires DLE and DOT to designate a site outside of the immediate port area to conduct inspections. Require the DLE to secure all illegal goods. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Establishes a temporary Medi-Medi Project within the Hawaii State Health Insurance Assistance Program administered by the Executive Office on Aging to assist older adults, Medicare beneficiaries, individuals with disabilities, and other underserved populations who may qualify for various low-income subsidy programs to gain access to their benefits. Requires the Executive Office on Aging to submit reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Requires all health care providers who accept Medicare to provide a cognitive assessment as part of the Medicare Part B annual wellness visit for Medicare beneficiaries sixty-five years of age or older, with certain exceptions. Requires health care providers to submit certain information to the Executive Office on Aging and the Executive Office on Aging to report de-identified aggregated data to the Legislature on an annual basis. Appropriates funds. Effective 1/1/2026.

Establishes the Housing Efficiency and Innovation Subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund. Specifies permissible uses of funding and priorities. Authorizes the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to transfer moneys between the Housing Efficiency and Innovation Subaccount and the RHRF without legislative approval. (SD1)

Raises the minimum age requirement to enter into marriage from sixteen to eighteen years of age. Removes the parental consent and written approval by the family court requirements for a minor to marry. Removes spousal cohabitation after the parties attain legal age as an exception for an annulment based on nonage. Makes conforming amendments.

Establishes a pilot program in the Department of Health to provide intensive mobile treatment-type services, e.g., "street psychiatry", to chronically houseless adult individuals suffering from serious brain disorders like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Requires the Department of Human Services to assess the feasibility of offering a 20% discount on certain goods and services for the State's low- to moderate-income elders.

Prohibits foreign entities from owning, leasing, or holding a controlling interest in more than an unspecified number of acres of agricultural land. Limits the lease term for agricultural land by foreign entities. Requires foreign entities that own or lease interest in agricultural lands to file an annual report with the Department of Agriculture. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD2)

Requires the Department of Health to adopt by rules, a mandate that the primary caregiver caring for two or three clients in community care foster family homes to be a certified nurse aide or licensed nurse who has completed a state-approved training program and other training as required by the Department and holds a current certified nurse aid certificate or nursing license.

Maddy summarySB 44 allows counties to ban housing discrimination against renters based on their source of income, such as government benefits (e.g., Social Security, welfare). It directly affects renters who rely on non-traditional income sources, preventing landlords from refusing to rent to them solely because of how they earn money. The key mechanism gives counties the authority to enact local policies prohibiting this specific form of discrimination. This bill would change local housing rules to ensure fair access for renters using public assistance or other non-wage income.