# Hawaii HB 1961: RELATING TO HEALTH CARE.

Hawaii HB 1961, RELATING TO HEALTH CARE., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) House bill sponsored by Jeanne Kapela (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-07-07 (Act 202, 07/07/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1304).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1961-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii HB 1961
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO HEALTH CARE.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-23
- Last action: 2026-07-07, Act 202, 07/07/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1304).
- Sponsor: Jeanne Kapela (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 26
- Subjects: Health Care Facilities, Interference, Disruption, Criminal Penalties, Civil Remedies, Attorney General, HHS, JDC
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 8 (166 yes, 32 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Prohibits persons from interfering with another person's access to or from a health care facility or disrupting the normal functioning of a health care facility. Makes violations a petty misdemeanor. Establishes a private right of action. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action for injunctive or other equitable relief. (SD1)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Health care access gets stronger protections: mixed, medium. The law bars adults from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly blocking access to a health care facility or disrupting its normal work. It also bars repeated calls meant to impede access or disrupt activities, and threats of injury to people or facility property. A first offense brings at least a…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Jeanne Kapela (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Terez Amato (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Della Au Belatti (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tina Nakada Grandinetti (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Daisy Hartsfield (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mark J. Hashem (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Linda Ichiyama (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Greggor Ilagan (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kirstin Kahaloa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY
- Cosponsor: Darius K. Kila (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Matthias Kusch (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: LA CHICA
- Cosponsor: Nicole E. Lowen (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Lisa Marten (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Scot Z. Matayoshi (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Dee Morikawa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Ikaika Olds (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Amy A. Perruso (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jackson D. Sayama (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kanani Souza (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Gregg Takayama (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jenna Takenouchi (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Adrian K. Tam (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: David A. Tarnas (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Shirley Ann Templo (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-23 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 40 | 10 |   |
| 2026-04-14 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 21 | 4 |   |
| 2026-04-07 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2026-03-18 | Senate | The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 1 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 42 | 8 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 42 | 5 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 2 |   |

## Actions (35)

- 2026-07-07: Act 202, 07/07/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1304). (Senate)
- 2026-07-07: Act 202, on 07/07/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1304). (House)
- 2026-04-24: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 823). (Senate)
- 2026-04-23: Received notice of House reconsideration of action in disagreeing to the amendments proposed by the Senate (Hse. Com. No. 815). (Senate)
- 2026-04-23: House agrees to Senate amendment(s). (House)
- 2026-04-23: Passed Final Reading as amended in SD 1 with Representative(s) Hussey voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Iwamoto, Kong, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (10) and Representative(s) Evslin excused (1). (House)
- 2026-04-23: Transmitted to Governor. (House)
- 2026-04-22: Reconsideration of action taken on 04-16-26. (House)
- 2026-04-17: Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780). (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: House disagrees with Senate amendment (s). (House)
- 2026-04-14: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 21; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 4 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella, Gabbard). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 645) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2026-04-10: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3753) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: One Day Notice 04-14-26. (Senate)
- 2026-04-07: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Gabbard; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa. (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Reported from HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3168) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: 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, McKelvey, Kanuha, Keohokalole; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Fevella; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: The committee(s) on HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-18-26 1:00PM; CR 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 327). (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to HHS, JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Kong, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (8) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1152-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-03-06: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26. (House)
- 2026-02-24: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Cochran, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Shimizu; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Garcia. (House)
- 2026-02-20: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Tuesday, 02-24-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-02-17: Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 308-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2026-02-17: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with Representative(s) Gedeon, Matsumoto voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (5) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lee, M., Poepoe excused (3). (House)
- 2026-02-06: The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Hartsfield, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-02-03: Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Friday, 02-06-26 9:00AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-01-28: Referred to HLT, JHA, referral sheet 3 (House)
- 2026-01-26: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House)
- 2026-01-23: Pending introduction. (House)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_SD1_.pdf)
- HB1961_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_HD1_.HTM)
- HB1961_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_HD2_.HTM)
- HB1961_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_SD1_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1304_.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS. (became law)
- HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES. (signed)
- HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- HB 1973: RELATING TO HEALTH. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_SD1_.pdf)
- [HB1961_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB1961_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_HD2_.HTM)
- [HB1961_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_SD1_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1961_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1304_.PDF)

## Related
- [SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB847-2026)
- [HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2021-2026)
- [SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2338-2026)
- [HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2344-2026)
- [HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2023-2026)
- [HB 1973: RELATING TO HEALTH.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1973-2026)
- [Hawaii bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii/bills)
- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1961-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).