Sen. Sharon Moriwaki

Establishes an Early Learning Apprenticeship Grant Program to be administered by the University of Hawaii to provide financial support for early learning program service providers in the State to participate in state- or federally-approved early learning apprenticeship programs. Requires an annual report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/31/2050. (SD1)

Beginning 1/1/2026, increases the cigarette tax from sixteen cents to eighteen cents and amends the disposition of cigarette tax revenues by allocating the increase in the cigarette tax amount to the Hawaii Cancer Research Special Fund. Effective 12/31/2050. (SD1)

Amends the Hawaii State Constitution to prohibit the State from denying or interfering with an individual's reproductive freedom, including the right to choose to obtain an abortion and to obtain or use contraceptives.

Requires the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to develop and publish a Hawaii climate adaptation and resilience implementation plan. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 1/1/2050. (SD1)

Requires the Department of Health (DOH) to track and publicly report certain data relating to crisis reports, emergency mental health transports, and court-ordered treatments. Requires the DOH to respond to reports about persons having severe mental illness who are in need of assistance, assess whether those persons fulfill criteria for assisted community treatment, and coordinate the process for an assisted community treatment order if indicated. Establishes that a court's denial of a petition for involuntary commitment shall serve as notification to the DOH that the subject of the petition should be evaluated for assisted community treatment. Appropriates funds. Effective 12/31/2050. (SD1)

Exempts from the general excise tax, gross receipts received by a hospital, infirmary, medical clinic, health care facility, pharmacy, or a practitioner licensed to administer drugs to an individual, from the sale of hearing aids. Effective 12/31/2050. Sunsets 1/1/2027. (SD1)

Establishes the Hawaii Condominium Mutual Insurance Company to provide property and casualty insurance to high-rise residential condominium associations and the owners of those units. Requires reports to the Governor. Establishes the Condominium Loan Fund to assist associations of apartment owners experiencing increased insurance costs. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Establishes Braille literacy as a policy of the State. Requires literacy assessments for eligible low vision and blind students to include Braille instruction and the use of Braille. Authorizes the Department of Education to adopt administrative rules. Establishes the Braille Literacy Resource Center. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Establishes a Desalination Planning Task Force to examine the feasibility of, and develop a plan and timeline for, the use desalination as a source of potable water in the State. (SD1)

Maddy summarySB 22 exempts state fisheries operations and management from requiring environmental reviews. This directly affects commercial fishing businesses and state fisheries management agencies. The bill removes the need for environmental impact assessments before implementing fisheries decisions. This changes existing state procedures by eliminating a review step for fisheries-related actions.