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Committee moves several bills; chair’s recommendations adopted for many measures
Summary
At the Feb. 19 House Consumer Protection & Commerce hearing the chair’s recommendations were adopted for multiple bills (pass with amendments, pass as is, or deferral). Several measures were deferred for further drafting or technical clarification.
The House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce took action on a series of bills on Feb. 19, adopting the chair’s recommendations on multiple measures and deferring several others for further work.
Actions recorded in the hearing transcript include votes to pass or pass with amendments on insurance, accounting, energy, education and prescription‑drug measures; and deferrals on several bills requiring additional drafting or technical clarification. The committee adopted the chair’s recommendations for the following items (transcript excerpts summarized):
- HB 544 (pet insurance): Chair’s recommendation to pass with amendments was adopted; committee report to note an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026 to allow insurers time to implement changes. The transcript records the chair and vice chair voting aye and several members verbally recorded as “Aye.”
- HB 983 (Certified Public Accountants): Chair’s recommendation to pass with amendments (substituting public accounting experience for some education requirements, per HSCPA amendments) was adopted.
- HB 1050 (Title 24, HRS): Chair’s recommendation to pass with amendments (defect date to July 1, 3000 for committee processing) was adopted.
- HB 1051, HD1 (energy efficient portfolio standards): Chair’s recommendation to pass as is was adopted; one member was recorded as voting “no” and another noted a reservation during the roll call recorded in the transcript.
- HB 350, HD1 (energy): Chair’s recommendation to pass with amendments (adopting State Energy Office clarifying language for heat pump water‑heater definitions) was adopted.
- HB 951, HD1 (prescription drugs): Chair’s recommendation to pass with amendments (reconciling language with previous committee work) was adopted.
- HB 1499, HD1 (Department of Education): Chair’s recommendation to pass with amendments (adopting Department of Health technical edits) was adopted.
Deferrals: The committee deferred several measures for further drafting or clarification, including HB 117 (condominiums), HB 256 (environmental protection — deferred to the next day at 2:00 p.m., Room 329), HB 1282 (certified caregivers, due to title/constitutional issues), and HB 423 (workers’ compensation — deferred to the next day at 2:00 p.m., Room 329).
The transcript indicates that for many items the chair’s recommendation was accepted with no recorded dissent; where members voiced “no” or “reservations” during roll call, those were noted on the record. The transcript contains no roll‑call tallies with full member-by-member votes for most bills; the committee record should be consulted for official vote counts and committee report language.
