HI HCR149

Requests the Department of Health to review, develop, and implement administrative rules and policies to facilitate traditional Hawaiian burial practices.

Defines traditional Hawaiian burial as using modern technology to remove flesh and fluids from a corpse while keeping bones (iwi) intact, consistent with practices like umu (above ground ovens) and cave decomposition.

Identifies traditional Hawaiian burial as safe, feasible, cost-effective, and environmentally superior to modern burials that use embalming chemicals that can contaminate soil and aquifers.

Notes that traditional Hawaiian burial requires smaller burial plots, reducing casket costs and increasing cemetery capacity.

Requires the Department of Health to submit a report on its findings and actions to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2016 Regular Session convenes.