HB 1966 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES SPECIAL FUND.

Summary

Amends the Emergency Medical Services Special Fund by authorizing the deposit of revenues from billable emergency medical services. Amends the composition and allowable uses of the special fund. Establishes a cap on the unencumbered and unexpended balance in the special fund. Exempts expenditures from the special fund from chapters 103D and 103F, HRS. Discontinues the allocation of cigarette tax revenues to the special fund beginning 1/1/2027. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1966_HD1 → HB1966_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill modernizes Hawaii's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Special Fund by allowing direct deposits of revenue from billable EMS services and establishing a new annual expenditure cap. It discontinues the allocation of cigarette tax revenues to this fund starting January 1, 2027, and exempts certain expenditures from specific state accounting chapters. The effective date for these operational changes is December 31, 2026, while the act's general effective date remains July 1, 3000.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a new provision for an annual expenditure cap and a specific exemption from chapters 103D and 103F of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which were not present in the House version.

FISCAL

Added a new provision authorizing an annual cap on expenditures from the EMS Special Fund.

Added a provision discontinuing the allocation of cigarette tax revenues to the EMS Special Fund beginning January 1, 2027.

Modified the composition of the EMS Special Fund by removing the specific line item for cigarette tax revenues and adjusting the numbering of remaining revenue sources.

REQUIREMENT

Added an exemption for EMS Special Fund expenditures from chapters 103D and 103F of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

TIMELINE

Modified the effective date for the bill's substantive sections (2-4) to December 31, 2026, instead of the original July 1, 3000 date.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Reported from HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3193) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

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, Kanuha, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) McKelvey.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-20-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to HHS, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 65).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Lee, M..

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 346-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Hartsfield, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi, Alcos; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to HLT, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

20 primary · 0 co-sponsors