2025 Post-Session Policy Update

On May 2, Hawaiʻi’s legislative session came to a close. This year’s session gave public health advocates many reasons to celebrate, as lawmakers passed several bills to address key health and wellness priorities, including food access for working families, pedestrian safety, oral health programming, and climate resilience. 

While significant work remains to resolve many lingering health concerns, this session’s victories demonstrated the legislature’s commitment to improving public health outcomes and will provide a strong policy foundation to build upon in the years to come. 

Healthy Eating + Active Living

One of the statewide Healthy Eating + Active Living (HEAL) Coalition’s top priorities this year was the establishment of free school meals for students in public schools. After months of deliberations, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1300 (SB 1300), which will provide free breakfast and lunch to families who earn up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Helping these  “ALICE” (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) families is a historic step forward in the effort to eliminate child hunger in Hawaiʻi. 

The legislature also made important strides in improving staffing levels and efficiency in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Elected officials supported SB 960, which appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services (DHS) to improve SNAP staffing levels by authorizing differential pay increases and creating new positions. Though they did not advance SB 961 to require DHS to participate in the Elderly Simplified Application Project, the passage of SB 960 is a potentially transformative move that should decompress overburdened SNAP offices and lessen wait times for enrollees. 

Additionally, the HEAL Coalition successfully championed measures to enhance resources for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program, including HB 1231, which establishes a $5 SRTS vehicle registration surcharge on motor vehicle registrations, and SB 1009, which creates a fine for unauthorized use of parking spaces reserved for persons with disabilities or electric vehicles and deposits fifty percent of the funds collected into the SRTS Special Fund. Collectively, these measures are expected to generate an additional $5 million for improvements to student transportation safety. 

The HEAL Coalition once again fought for “freedom to walk” legislation that would allow pedestrians to cross the street whenever it is safe to do so. Yet, lawmakers did not advance SB 106 to accomplish this goal. 

Finally, HEAL members made an energetic push for paid family and medical leave (PFML) this year. PFML would allow workers to take time off to care for medical emergencies, such as the birth of a child or long-term illness of an aging parent, while still receiving a portion of their income. Though legislators did not pass a bill to establish a PFML program for the islands, they did adopt SCR 145, which calls on the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) to convene a task force to develop recommendations for a family leave program, and provided $750,000 for a family leave actuarial study in the state budget. 

Tobacco Prevention & Control

Ending the sale of flavored tobacco remained a top priority for the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i (CTFH). Unfortunately, legislators ultimately did not approve HB 756, a measure to prohibit the sale of flavored nicotine products and nicotine product flavor enhancers. The proposal received broad public support, however, and will be carried over to the 2026 legislative session after passing the House in February. 

Similarly, a proposal to restore the counties’ authority to regulate tobacco products, HB 380, was passed by the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection and the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, but was not given a hearing by the House Finance Committee. Efforts are already underway to formulate an advocacy plan to boost tobacco regulations during next year’s legislative session.

Oral Health

Throughout this year’s session, the Hawai‘i Oral Health Coalition advocated for the addition of oral health staff within the Department of Health (DOH), which would expand access to oral hygiene programs in underserved communities and deliver targeted solutions for preventive dental care. Approximately $1.2 million to fund these new oral health positions was included in the biennium budget adopted by the legislature, as outlined in HB 300. 

Farm to School

The Hawai‘i Farm to School Network prioritized raising the Department of Education’s (DOE) small purchase procurement threshold from $25,000 to $100,000 this year, in an effort to better achieve the department’s goal of sourcing 30% of school food locally by 2030. Lawmakers exceeded this objective by passing HB 1293, which exempts DOE purchases of local food products of less than $250,000 from procurement system requirements. This increase will sunset in 2028, requiring additional legislation to make it permanent. Increasing the DOE’s small purchase procurement limit will foster collaboration between our public schools and agricultural sector, uplifting both farmers and our keiki. 

A measure to transfer the Hawaiʻi Child Nutrition Programs Agency (HCNP) from the DOE to the Department of Agriculture (DOA), HB 497, was not heard by the House Finance Committee and will be workshopped during the interim period. Policymakers did adopt HR 100, however, which urges DOE leaders to fortify farm-to-school programming by simplifying contracting requirements for local farmers, developing a statewide database of farms that are able to supply food for school meals, increasing financial incentives for schools to purchase locally sourced food, and incorporating culturally appropriate foods into school meals.

Alcohol Policy

This year, the Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance (HIAPA) continued to organize community support for proposals to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for operating a vehicle from 0.08 to 0.05. Studies consistently show that drivers are significantly impaired at a 0.05 BAC, increasing the risk of a crash. While SB 1285 passed the Senate in March, it was significantly amended by the House Transportation Committee and ultimately deferred by the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs. The Senate did adopt SR 151, however, which urges the Department of Transportation (DOT) to form a working group to evaluate the impact of lowering the BAC to 0.05. The resolution calls for HIAPA to be included in the working group, along with state leaders and other subject matter experts. 

Climate Health and Resilience 

The Climate Change and Health Working Group (CCHWG), the newest addition to HIPHI’s program portfolio, spearheaded actions to address heat exposure for all public school students (HB 245), invest in wastewater technology solutions (SB 1232), and fund invasive species eradication (HB 299). While the legislature failed to pass these measures, CCHWG worked with lawmakers to pass SCR 111, a resolution declaring the climate crisis a public health emergency and asking all state agencies to evaluate the impact of climate change on their programs and services. The resolution provides an essential cornerstone for future initiatives to connect climate resilience with community health indicators. 

What happens next? Now that the legislative session has ended, the governor has 45 days to review all bills that were passed during this year’s session and decide whether to sign them into law, allow them to become law without his signature, or veto them. If the governor intends to veto the bill, he must inform the legislature by June 24, 2025 (the 35th day after adjournment sine die) and deliver the veto by July 9, 2025 (the 45th day after adjournment).

Lawmakers are also exploring the possibility of convening a special session to deal with budgetary matters later this year. To continue making your voice heard on legislative affairs, sign up for our action alerts. Together, we can ensure that our elected leaders understand the importance of putting public health at the heart of our political processes.