Sen. Rosalyn H. Baker

Prohibits health insurers, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations from excluding coverage of a service solely because the service is provided through telehealth and not through face-to-face contact. Requires parity between telehealth services and face-to-face services for purposes of deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, benefit limits, and utilization reviews.

Appropriates funds for teacher salaries.

Establishes a primary promise pilot program within the Department of Education. Requires the Department to identify elementary schools having low literacy rates or a disproportionate number of students reading below grade level. Appropriates moneys to hire teachers and instructional aides to provide instruction to students in grades K-3 who read below grade level in those identified schools. Sunsets 6/30/2025.

Requires boards to provide interactive conference technology for all meetings under the State's open meetings law to permit remote participation and testimony. Requires boards to send board packets to those who have requested notification of meetings either by mail or electronic access.

Recognizes and formalizes the Prevent Suicide Hawaii Task Force to implement its strategic plan to reduce suicide in Hawaii by twenty-five per cent by 2025. Appropriates funds to the Department of Health's Emergency Medical Services and Injunction System Branch to support the branch operations to prevent or reduce suicide in the State.

Requires each county to adopt an ordinance, or the appropriate political subdivision of the county, to adopt rules, with respect to building permits for 5G towers that are proposed to be located near airports. Requires reports to the Legislature.

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to develop and adopt reliability standards and interconnection requirements to facilitate the timely interconnection of utility-scale renewable energy projects.

Establishes an extended producer responsibility program. Requires certain producers of fast-moving consumer goods to register with the Department of Health and pay an annual fee based on the amount of packaging volume the covered producer places on the market each calendar year from 2023 to 2027. Provides for the deposit of fees into an extended producer responsibility special fund. Provides for the expenditure of moneys from the extended producer responsibility special fund for the creation of a report that assess the resources needed to reduce the volume of packaging waste sent to landfills or power plants that burn municipal solid waste as a fuel by 50% by 2026 and 80% by 2030. Appropriates moneys.

Authorizes the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation the right of first refusal for the development of property for all development on state lands, excluding Hawaii Public Housing Authority and Department of Hawaiian Home Land lands, that are within a one-half mile radius of a rail transit station, provided there is a transfer of any property interest, including a leasehold interest, in state lands that are within a one-half mile radius of a rail transit station.

Amends the Hawaii Broadband and Digital Equity Office's duties, including requiring the office to prioritize the access to broadband in rural areas of the State.