RELATING TO EXCITED DELIRIUM.

Healthcare Labor

Active

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

Sponsor: TAKAYAMA
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of July 1, 3000 is likely a placeholder and not intended as the actual implementation date.

Rules About Excited Delirium

This bill stops excited delirium from being recognized as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in Hawaii, and prohibits its use by health care providers and law enforcement officers.

What This Bill Does

It says that excited delirium cannot be recognized as a valid medical condition or reason for someone's death.
Health workers and officials can't write 'excited delirium' on death certificates or other reports about deaths.
Law enforcement officers are not allowed to use the term 'excited delirium' in their incident reports.

Who It Names or Affects

Health care providers and officials who write death certificates
Law enforcement officers who make incident reports

Terms To Know

Excited Delirium: A term used to describe a person's state of agitation, excitability, paranoia, extreme aggression, physical violence, and apparent immunity to pain that is not recognized as a medical condition.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what should be written instead of 'excited delirium' on death certificates or in incident reports.
It is unclear how this will affect ongoing cases where excited delirium has already been mentioned.
This act takes effect on July 1, 3000, which seems to be a placeholder date and not the actual intended effective date.

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment prohibits the recognition of excited delirium as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in Hawaii, restricts its use by health care providers and law enforcement officers, and makes it inadmissible in civil actions.

Excited delirium cannot be recognized as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in the state.
Health care providers and medical examiners are not allowed to document excited delirium on certificates of death or reports.
Law enforcement officers cannot use the term 'excited delirium' when writing incident reports.
Evidence related to excited delirium is not admissible in civil actions.

The amendment specifies an effective date far into the future (July 1, 3000), which seems unusual and may indicate a placeholder or error.

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: This amendment prohibits the use of 'excited delirium' as a medical diagnosis, cause of death, or in incident reports by law enforcement officers.

Excited delirium cannot be recognized as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in Hawaii.
Medical examiners, coroners, and health care providers are not allowed to document excited delirium on certificates of death or in any report.
Law enforcement officers cannot use the term 'excited delirium' when writing incident reports.
Evidence related to excited delirium is not admissible in civil actions.

The amendment's effective date (July 1, 3000) seems incorrect and may be a placeholder or error.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-03-06 S
Referred to HHS/PSM, JDC.
2025-03-06 S
Passed First Reading.
2025-03-06 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 180).
2025-03-04 H
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick, Ward excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2025-02-28 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-04-25.
2025-02-28 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1056) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.
2025-02-26 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Perruso, Takayama, Todd, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, Kahaloa.
2025-02-21 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 02-26-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-11 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2).
2025-02-11 H
Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 322) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
2025-02-05 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, Chun, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Garcia.
2025-01-31 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Wednesday, 02-05-25 9:30AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to HLT, JHA, referral sheet 1
2025-01-16 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-10 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO EXCITED DELIRIUM.
Excited Delirium; Medical Diagnosis; Cause of Death; Incident Report; Law Enforcement Officers; Hawaii Rules of Evidence
Prohibits excited delirium from being recognized as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in the State. Prohibits a medical examiner, coroner, or health care provider from stating on a certificate of death or in any report that the cause of death was excited delirium. Prohibits law enforcement officers from using the term excited delirium to describe an individual in an incident report. Establishes a new Hawaii Rule of Evidence that deems evidence that a person experienced or suffered an excited delirium inadmissible in a civil action. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB36

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

36

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to excited delirium
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
Chapter 338, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�338-
�
Cause of death; excited delirium
prohibited.
�
(a)
�
Excited delirium shall not be recognized as a
valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in the State.

����
(b)
�
A local health officer or local agent of the
department of health shall not document, testify to, or otherwise use excited
delirium as a recognized medical diagnosis or cause of death in any official
capacity or communication.

����
(c)
�
A local health officer or local agent of the
department of health shall not state on the certificate of death, or in any
report, that the cause of death was excited delirium.
�
The local health officer or local agent of
the department of health may list and describe the contributing causes of death,
but shall not describe the underlying cause as excited delirium.

����
(d)
�
A state or county government entity, or
employee or contractor of a state or county government entity, shall not
document, testify to, or otherwise use in any official capacity or
communication excited delirium as a recognized medical diagnosis or cause of
death.

����
(e)
�
As used in this section, "excited
delirium" means a term used to describe a person's state of agitation,
excitability, paranoia, extreme aggression, physical violence, and apparent
immunity to pain that is not listed in the most current version of the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which a court
finds there is insufficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be
recognized as a medical condition.
�
"Excited
delirium" includes but is not limited to excited delirium syndrome,
hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
"

����
SECTION 2.
�
Chapter 353C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�353C-
�
Incident reports; excited delirium
prohibited.
�
(a)
�
A law enforcement officer shall not use the
term excited delirium to describe an individual in an incident report completed
by a law enforcement officer.
�
A law
enforcement officer may describe the characteristics of an individual's
conduct, but shall not generally describe the individual's demeanor, conduct,
or physical or mental condition at issue as excited delirium.

����
(b)
�
As used in this section:

����
"Excited delirium"
shall have the same meaning as in section 338- .

����
"Law enforcement
officer" shall have the same meaning as in section 134-81.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�
Section 626-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new rule to article XI to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:

����
"
Rule
�
Excited delirium; prohibition.
�
(a)
�

Evidence that a person suffered or experienced excited delirium shall
not be admitted in any civil action.

����
(b)
�
A party or witness may describe the factual
circumstances surrounding the case, including a person's demeanor, conduct, and
physical or mental condition at issue, but shall not describe or diagnose the
demeanor, conduct, or physical or mental condition as excited delirium, or
attribute the demeanor, conduct, or physical or mental condition to excited
delirium.

����
(c)
�
As used in this rule, "excited
delirium" means a term used to describe a person's state of agitation,
excitability, paranoia, extreme aggression, physical violence, and apparent
immunity to pain that is not listed in the most current version of the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or for which the court
finds there is insufficient scientific evidence or diagnostic criteria to be
recognized as a medical condition.
�
"Excited
delirium" includes but is not limited to excited delirium syndrome,
hyperactive delirium, agitated delirium, and exhaustive mania.
"

����
SECTION 4.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Excited
Delirium; Medical Diagnosis; Cause of Death; Incident Report; Law Enforcement
Officers; Hawaii Rules of Evidence

Description:

Prohibits
excited delirium from being recognized as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of
death in the State.
�
Prohibits a
local
health officer or local agent of the Department of Health from stating on a
certificate of death or in any report that the cause of death was excited
delirium.
�
Prohibits law enforcement
officers from using the term excited delirium to describe an individual in an
incident report.
�
Establishes a new Hawaii
Rule of Evidence that deems evidence that a person experienced or suffered an
excited delirium inadmissible in a civil action.

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