RELATING TO VITAL STATISTICS.

Children Parental Rights

Active

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

Sponsor: TAKAYAMA, GRANDINETTI, MARTEN, POEPOE, TAKENOUCHI, TAM
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary does not provide specific details about the fee amounts or how they will be used.

Certificates for Stillborn Babies

This bill allows the Department of Health to issue certificates for stillbirths, sets fees for these certificates, and uses the money to improve vital statistics systems.

What This Bill Does

The Department of Health can now give out special certificates for babies who are born dead after a certain time in pregnancy.
Parents or guardians can ask for this certificate at any time, even if it's long after the baby was stillborn.
If parents want to name their stillborn child on the certificate, they can do that too.

Who It Names or Affects

Parents or guardians of babies who are stillborn
The Department of Health

Terms To Know

Stillbirth: When a baby dies in the womb after being alive for at least 20 weeks.
Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund: A special fund used to improve systems that track important health information like births and deaths.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how much the fees will be.
It is unclear when exactly these certificates will start being issued, as it mentions an effective date far in the future (July 1, 3000).

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment allows the Department of Health to issue commemorative certificates of stillbirth, sets fees for these certificates, and specifies that they are not legal documents.

The Department of Health can now issue commemorative certificates of stillbirth.
Fees will be charged for each certificate issued: $ for the first copy and a different amount for additional copies.
All fees collected from issuing these certificates will go into a special fund called the Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund.

The exact fee amounts for the commemorative certificates are not specified in the amendment text.
The amendment states that these certificates do not have legal standing and cannot be used as official government records.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-12 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Sayama, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-12 H
Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 531) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2025-02-07 H
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, Chun, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2025-02-05 H
Bill scheduled for decision making on Friday, 02-07-25 8:45AM in conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-05 H
The committee(s) on HLT recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 02-07-25.
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, FIN, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO VITAL STATISTICS.
Vital Statistics; Commemorative Certificates of Stillbirth; Department of Health; Fees; Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund ($)
Authorizes the Department of Health to issue commemorative certificates of stillbirth. Establishes fees for the issuance of commemorative certificates of stillbirth, to be deposited into the Vital Statistics Improvement Special Fund. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB715

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

715

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to vital statistics
.

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-
�
Certificates
of stillbirth.
�
(a)
�
The department of health shall, upon the
request of the parent or parents, issue a certificate of stillbirth to the
parent or parents named on a fetal death certificate issued in the case of a
stillbirth.
�
A certificate may be
requested and issued regardless of the date on which the fetal death
certificate was issued.
�
The certificate
shall, upon the request of the parent or parents, include the name given to the
stillborn fetus.

����
(b)
�
For purposes of this section, "stillbirth"
means the unintended intrauterine death of a fetus that occurs after the
clinical estimate of the twentieth week of gestation.
"

����
SECTION
2.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of
$ or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so
much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the department
of health to modify the fetal death reporting system, certificate ordering
system, and retaining of personnel necessary to implement this Act.

����
The sums

appropriated shall be expended by the
department of health for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION
3.
�
New statutory material is
underscored.

����
SECTION
4.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1,
2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Vital
Statistics; Certificates of Stillbirth; Department of Health; Appropriation

Description:

Requires the Department of Health to issue
a certificate of stillbirth, upon request of the parent or
parents named on a fetal death certificate issued in the case of a stillbirth
.
�
Appropriates funds.

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