A House joint hearing on health and human services moved HB1462 forward on a recommendation to pass with amendments, advancing a plan to add a second behavioral health crisis center on Oahu and to target the site to communities with disproportionate needs.

The bill, presented at the hearing as “relating to crisis services,” drew endorsements from public-safety and health witnesses. Mike Lambert, introduced at the start of the hearing as the director nominee for the Department of Law Enforcement, said the bill would reduce the need for arrests in mental-health emergencies. “In lieu of meaningful crisis services, law enforcement will be forced to utilize arrest procedures, which may not be appropriate for someone experiencing a mental health crisis,” Lambert testified.

Community groups and health officials also supported the measure. Kat Brady of Community Alliance on Prisons testified in strong support and highlighted the need for a second site in Waianae. Courtney Matsu, medical director for the Department of Health Adult Mental Health Division, said the state’s existing crisis center in Ewa (Evile) required substantial renovations and specialized space — including a padded room that had to be ordered from the mainland — and that it took about a year to bring the current site fully online. Matsu noted operating costs and capital needs: the department’s budgeted operating cost for the existing site was about $4,300,000, a figure the chair asked be included in committee report language for future consideration.

Chair Greg Takayama said he would offer an amendment to specify that the second Oahu site “shall be in an area that data shows to be affected by disproportionate numbers of individuals with mental health conditions, substance abuse disorders, or homelessness.” The joint panel adopted the chair’s recommendation and the amendment; both the House Committee on Health and the Committee on Human Services and Homelessness voted to pass the bill with amendments.

Why this matters: witnesses and legislators said crisis centers help divert people from the criminal justice system and provide clinical care sooner, which can reduce harm to individuals and communities. Committee members pressed the Department of Health on lead time and costs, and staff warned that building or retrofitting a facility requires months for site work, renovations and specialized fixtures.

Next steps: The committees moved HB1462 forward with the adopted amendment and committee report language noting the Ewa site’s cost as a planning reference. The bill will proceed to subsequent committees for consideration and appropriation decisions.