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Senate committees pass amended HB 441 to raise cigarette taxes, direct proceeds to cancer center debt reduction
Summary
After hours of testimony from health groups, retailers and citizens, joint Senate committees voted to pass HB 441 with amendments that replace its contents with SB 1528 SD1 (with specified exceptions) and direct increased tobacco-tax proceeds toward debt reduction and the Hawaii Cancer Center.
Joint Senate committees hearing on public health voted to pass House Bill 441, HD2, with amendments after broad testimony from public health agencies, medical centers, tobacco-control coalitions, retailers and residents.
Department of Health representative Lola Irvin told the committees that "cigarettes are still the leading cause of preventable disease and death" and urged increasing the per-stick tax, noting a current tax of 16¢ per stick and requesting a 5¢ increase to 21¢ per stick. The Department of Taxation's Winston Wall asked that, if rates change, the bill take effect on 2026-01-01 to allow time to order new tax stamps.
Deputy Attorney General Rich Stacy said the Tobacco Enforcement unit is underfunded and that additional revenue would support enforcement; he noted settlement funds recently received, saying "we got $36,000,000 last year in MSA money" and that ongoing resources are needed to sustain enforcement.
Supporters including the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society described the Hawaii Cancer Research Special Fund's role in research and care. Luke Itamura, a student advocate, urged a larger increase, saying a $1-per-pack raise could yield public-health gains and cited modeled estimates including "2,000 adults who currently smoke quitting" and a "6.9 percent decrease in youth" smoking.
Retailers and other opponents warned of regressive impacts and the risk of illicit sales. Business owner Ra Long testified that higher taxes “will just drive more people to illegal sources” and reported local unregulated sales of smuggled cigarettes.
The chairs announced a unanimous intention to pass HB 441 with amendments that replace the bill’s contents with SB 1528 SD1 except for accepted technical amendments and to direct increased proceeds toward debt reduction, including specified proceeds directed to the Hawaii Cancer Center’s debt reduction. The HHS panel recorded chair and vice chair votes as "aye" and individual senators recorded aye votes; the recommendation was adopted. The Higher Education committee also adopted the recommendation with recorded votes (chair aye; vice chair recorded no; other members recorded as present on the record). The committees also noted several drafting clarifications and an implementation request from Taxation on effective dates.
Next steps: the bill advances with committee amendments and the committees asked staff to incorporate the technical language and the stated funding directions into the committee report.
