HB2159 • 2026

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

Budget Education Healthcare Labor

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: GARRETT, AMATO, BELATTI, CHUN, GRANDINETTI, ILAGAN, IWAMOTO, KAHALOA, KAPELA, KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY, KILA, KONG, KUSCH, LOWEN, MARTEN, MIYAKE, MORIKAWA, OLDS, PERRUSO, POEPOE, SAYAMA, TAKAYAMA, TAKENOUCHI, TAM, TARNAS
Last action: 2026-03-30
Official status: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the exact impact or number of additional health care workers that will be trained as a result of these new positions.

Health Care Workforce Development Act

This bill establishes new positions at the University of Hawaii to support health care workforce development and funds these positions with $3,724,600 for fiscal year 2026-2027.

What This Bill Does

Establishes eighteen and a half full-time equivalent (18.5 FTE) positions at the University of Hawaii to support health care workforce development.
Funds these new positions with $3,724,600 from state general revenues for fiscal year 2026-2027.

Who It Names or Affects

The University of Hawaii system, including the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Cancer Center, School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, and Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy.
Health care workers in training at these institutions.

Terms To Know

FTE: Full-Time Equivalent - a measure used to represent the workload of an employee or group of employees on a full-time basis, even if they are part-time or work variable hours.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill only funds positions for one fiscal year (2026-2027) and does not specify long-term funding.
It is unclear how many additional health care workers will be trained as a result of these new positions.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment appropriates funds from the state's general revenues to create new full-time equivalent positions at the University of Hawaii to address health care workforce shortages.

Appropriates money for the creation of additional full-time faculty and staff positions within the University of Hawaii system.

The exact number and type of positions are not specified in the amendment text, making it unclear how many new jobs will be created.
The effective date is set for July 1, 3000, which seems to be an error or placeholder.

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: This amendment establishes new positions within the University of Hawaii to address health care workforce shortages in the state.

Appropriates funds from general revenues for fiscal year 2026-2027 to create full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at the University of Hawaii system.
The purpose is to support health care workforce development by training more doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and public health workers.

The exact amount of funds appropriated is not specified in the amendment text.
The specific number of new positions created is also not detailed.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: This amendment establishes positions and provides funding to the University of Hawaii to support health care workforce development in the state.

Appropriates funds from general revenues for fiscal year 2026-2027 to create full-time equivalent (FTE) positions within the University of Hawaii system.
The purpose is to address critical shortages in healthcare professionals, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

The exact amount of funds appropriated is not specified.
The amendment takes effect on July 31, 2055, which seems unusually far into the future and may be a typographical error.

Bill History

2026-03-30 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2026-03-30 S
Reported from EDU/HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3390) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2026-03-25 S
The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Fukunaga.
2026-03-25 S
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.
2026-03-20 S
The committee(s) on EDU/HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-25-26 1:10PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
2026-03-10 S
Referred to EDU/HHS, WAM.
2026-03-06 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-06 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 86).
2026-03-05 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-05 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 807-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-02-25 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-02-23 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Wednesday, 02-25-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-19 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
2026-02-19 H
Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 552-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.
2026-02-18 H
The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Hartsfield, Marten, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Olds.
2026-02-13 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Wednesday, 02-18-26 10:00AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-11 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on HLT with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Holt excused (1).
2026-02-11 H
Reported from HED (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 136-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to HLT.
2026-02-06 H
The committee on HED recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Kila, La Chica, Olds, Woodson, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-02-03 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HED on Friday, 02-06-26 2:05PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-30 H
Referred to HED, HLT, FIN, referral sheet 5
2026-01-28 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-26 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UH; Health Care Workforce Development; Positions; Appropriation ($)
Establishes positions and appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii to support health care workforce development in the State. Effective 7/31/2055. (SD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2159

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2159

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to health care workforce development
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that the
university of Hawaii is responsible for training the next generation of
doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and public health workers in the State.
�
The legislature further finds that severe
shortages in nearly all health profession disciplines and most medical
specialties have severely limited access to care, particularly in rural and
underserved areas and areas with certain minority and vulnerable
positions.
�
These workforce shortages are
particularly felt in high-priority areas of concern such as cancer, neurology
and dementia, and behavioral health-primary care integration and addiction
medicine.

����
The
legislature also finds that establishing additional clinical faculty positions
in the university of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns school of medicine,
university of Hawaii cancer center, university of Hawaii at Manoa school of
nursing and dental hygiene, university of Hawaii at Manoa Thompson school of
social work and public health, and university of Hawaii Hilo Daniel K. Inouye
college of pharmacy will strengthen the ability of the university of Hawaii to
address critical workforce shortages by filling key educational, training, and
clinical-translational research roles.

����
Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to establish and appropriate funds for additional
positions in the university of Hawaii to address the State's health care
workforce shortages.

����
SECTION
2.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $3,724,600 or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the establishment of
eighteen and a half full-time equivalent (18.5 FTE) positions within the
university of Hawaii system to support health care workforce development in
Hawaii.

����
The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the university of Hawaii for the purposes of
this Act.

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

University
of Hawaii; Health Care Workforce Development; Appropriation

Description:

Establishes
positions and appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii to support health
care workforce development in the State.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.