HB 2502 Summary

• Authorizes the Director of Health, with Governor consultation and authorization, to screen, test, monitor, quarantine, and isolate travelers (interisland, domestic, and international) to prevent spread of communicable or dangerous diseases without requiring a governor's emergency proclamation.

• Establishes travelers screening special fund to be administered by the Department of Health, funded by fines and penalties collected under the new provisions, legislative appropriations, and other sources.

• Requires travelers to complete health status questionnaires and submit to screening; violations are misdemeanors punishable by fines up to $5,000.

• Allows individuals subject to quarantine or isolation to request court hearings within seven days to contest orders, with decisions based on clear and convincing evidence for quarantine/isolation determinations.

• Allocates $5.2 million for health assurance, $5 million for COVID-19 hotel employee testing grants (up to $250,000 per hotel), and $18 million from transient accommodations tax to the travelers screening special fund; certain provisions sunset June 30, 2022.