# Hawaii SB 2521: RELATING TO EMERGENCY SERVICES.

Hawaii SB 2521, RELATING TO EMERGENCY SERVICES., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Ronald D. Kouchi (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-04-22 (Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 720).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2521-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii SB 2521
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO EMERGENCY SERVICES.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-23
- Last action: 2026-04-22, Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 720).
- Sponsor: Ronald D. Kouchi (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: City and County of Honolulu Mayor's Package, DOH, Commercial Driver's License Exemption, Emergency Medical Services Personnel, Authorized Emergency Vehicle, TRN, JHA
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 8 (152 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Exempts emergency medical services personnel from commercial driver's license requirements. Requires federal, state, and county firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and law enforcement officers to maintain proof of successful completion of agency-approved or other state-approved training on authorized emergency vehicles. Amends the definition of "authorized emergency vehicle" under the State Traffic Code to replace ambulances with emergency medical services vehicles. Expands the definition of "authorized emergency vehicle" to include disaster response and recovery vehicles and Department of Health vehicles. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Ronald D. Kouchi (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-14 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 51 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-31 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 8 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-24 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 48 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-19 | House | The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 8 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | The committee(s) on TRS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (33)

- 2026-04-22: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 720). (House)
- 2026-04-21: House Conferees Appointed: Kila, Poepoe Co-Chairs; Muraoka. (House)
- 2026-04-21: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 800). (Senate)
- 2026-04-21: Senate Conferees Appointed: Inouye Chair; McKelvey, Rhoads Co-Chairs; Elefante. (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 667). (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 710). (House)
- 2026-04-14: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-04-10: Deferred one day 04-14-26. (House)
- 2026-04-08: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1824-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-04-08: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 04-10-26. (House)
- 2026-03-31: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Hashem, Kahaloa, Takayama, Cochran, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Sayama. (House)
- 2026-03-25: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Tuesday, 03-31-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-24: Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1336-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2026-03-24: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Garrett, Quinlan excused (2). (House)
- 2026-03-19: The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Miyake, Evslin, Grandinetti, La Chica, Cochran, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kitagawa. (House)
- 2026-03-16: Bill scheduled to be heard by TRN on Thursday, 03-19-26 8:30AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-12: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to TRN, JHA, referral sheet 17 (House)
- 2026-03-10: Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 256) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3029) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: One Day Notice 03-10-26. (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: 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, Gabbard, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Chang, San Buenaventura. (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 03-03-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Reported from TRS/HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2278) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: The committee(s) on TRS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TRS were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Elefante, Kanuha, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C.. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, McKelvey, Kanuha, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: The committee(s) on TRS/HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-26 1:15PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Referred to TRS/HHS, JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Introduced. (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Passed First Reading. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_HD2_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_.PDF)
- SB2521_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_HD1_.HTM)
- SB2521_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_HD2_.HTM)
- SB2521_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_SD1_.HTM)

## Related bills

- SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS. (became law)
- SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES. (signed)
- HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- SB 2031: RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_HD2_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_.PDF)
- [SB2521_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB2521_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_HD2_.HTM)
- [SB2521_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2521_SD1_.HTM)

## Related
- [SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB847-2026)
- [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 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2021-2026)
- [SB 2031: RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2031-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2521-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).