House Consumer Protection Committee advances bills on workers’ comp, pharmacy technicians, noise limits, seafood labeling and aquaculture; HB205 deferred

The House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce on Feb. 6, 2025, advanced several measures across a range of subjects and took one deferral, the committee chair said at the end of the hearing.

Chair Representative Della-Ana Matayoshi convened the panel and said members voted to pass or pass with amendments on bills including HB480 HD1 (workers’ compensation), HB331 HD1 (permits, with school facilities amendment), HB72 HD1 (pharmacy technician registry, exempted from a Sunrise analysis), HB139 HD1 (insurance technical amendments), HB302 HD1 (medical cannabis application timing, amended), HB470 HD1 (noise equipment standards), HB534 HD1 (raw-processed ahi labeling amendments) and HB47 HD1 (aquaculture standards). The committee deferred decision making on HB205 HD1 (workers’ compensation) to a later agenda.

Why it matters: the package touches hospital and community pharmacy practice, local government permitting and construction review, consumer protection for seafood origin, noise regulation that affects homeowners and landscapers, and aquaculture oversight — all areas with direct impact on business practices and daily life in Hawaii.

Discussion highlights and outcomes

HB205 HD1 (workers’ compensation): The bill drew testimony in support, including from Kathy Wilson, who “stood on” her written testimony. Chair Matayoshi said she would defer decision making on HB205 to a subsequent meeting; no final action was taken.

HB480 HD1 (workers’ compensation): David Rogers of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Brenna Hashimoto, director of the Department of Human Resources Development, both stood on written testimony in support. Chair Matayoshi recommended passing the bill “as is,” and the committee adopted the recommendation.

HB331 HD1 (permits): The University of Hawaii and the Hawaii School Facilities Authority testified in support; the Board of Water Supply and an individual, Greg Misakian, testified in opposition, raising capacity and public-safety concerns about local permitting and plan review. Doug Collison of the Hawaii School Facilities Authority requested one amendment to the definition of “repeatable projects” to reflect the agency’s preschool conversion work. The committee adopted the School Facilities Authority’s proposed amendment; Representative Veil Moro recorded a reservation during the vote.

HB72 HD1 (pharmacy technicians): The Board of Pharmacy offered comments. Christopher Fernandez of the Board of Pharmacy stood on the board’s comments; Corey Sanders, director of the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, urged the panel to act quickly and described pharmacy technicians’ roles in vaccination administration and sterile compounding. A representative of Molokai Drugs testified in support, emphasizing rural patient access and saying pharmacy technicians “are essentially our essential healthcare employees.” The committee voted to pass HB72 with an amendment exempting the measure from a Sunrise analysis.

HB302 HD1 (medical cannabis): Deputy Attorney General Andrew Goff summarized written comments and warned that allowing patients to purchase cannabis before the Department of Health approves an application could expose a person or caregiver to criminal penalties if the application is later denied. “That person or their caregiver could be in possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis or cannabis products,” Goff said, and depending on the product that possession “could carry a criminal penalty of anywhere between a misdemeanor or a class C felony.” The Department of Health and industry groups also testified; the committee adopted amendments removing the prior-purchase language and adopting Department of Health–recommended limits and in-state certification requirements.

HB470 HD1 (noise from leaf blowers and trimmers): The Department of Health’s Matt Carrano supported efforts to reduce noise pollution but cautioned about regulating brief, intermittent sources and noted enforcement is often handled at the county level. Retail Merchants of Hawaii (Tina Yamaki) opposed wholesale bans or very near-term prohibitions, warning of commercial hardship and limited battery-run runtimes for commercial equipment: “The technology is not there,” she said. Ted Bolan, a long-time environmental-health representative, urged passage and described the bill as aimed at reducing nuisance noise without immediate bans on existing equipment. The committee restored a government-entity exemption but required that future government purchases meet an ANSI B-175.2 rating; the committee passed the measure with those amendments.

HB534 HD1 (labeling requirements for ahi): The Department of Land and Natural Resources (David Sakoda) and the Department of Agriculture testified on amendments to narrow the bill’s scope to avoid federal preemption concerns. DLNR recommended targeting “raw processed ahi” and excluding canned or otherwise fully processed products; the committee adopted DLNR’s amendment and changed the administering entity from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for implementation responsibility.

HB47 HD1 (aquaculture): The Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Invasive Species Council supported risk-assessment approaches and amendments proposed by the Hawaii Aquaculture and Aquaponics Association. Those amendments place standards and approvals under the state aquaculture veterinarian’s oversight and preserve existing permits; the committee passed the measure with those amendments.

Procedure and votes: For bills called for a roll call, the chair summarized the recommendation and called the vice chair to poll the committee. Where members voiced reservations, those reservations were noted in the record (for example, Representative Veil Moro on HB331 and Representative [Euamoto] on HB302). Several measures were passed with amendments; HB205 was deferred for later decision.

Quoted testimony

Corey Sanders, director of the Hawaii Pharmacists Association: “Right now, we’re the only state in the country that doesn’t have a list of pharmacy technicians that are practicing within the state.”

Andrew Goff, Deputy Attorney General, on HB302: “That person or their caregiver could be in possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis or cannabis products…that could carry a criminal penalty of anywhere between a misdemeanor or a class C felony.”

Tina Yamaki, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, on HB470: “The technology is not there.”

Ted Bolan (environmental-health): “This bill is reasonable in that it doesn’t ban usage now.”

What’s next: The committee will revisit HB205 at a future date. Bills passed or passed with amendments will proceed through the legislative process as amended; implementation details, including which state agency will oversee labeling or other rules, were clarified in committee action and will be reflected in committee reports.

Limitations: This report summarizes testimony and committee action from the Feb. 6, 2025 hearing record. It does not infer legislative intent beyond recorded amendments and recorded votes. If the transcript identifies a speaker without an institutional title, the article uses the affiliation the speaker provided or, when no formal affiliation was given, a descriptive label (for example, “Greg Misakian, testifier”).