HCR 101 Summary

• Requests the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study examining the necessity and effects of Hawaii's Certificate of Need (CON) program under Chapter 323D, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

• Directs the study to evaluate the CON program's role, potential facility exemptions, modifications used in other states, application costs, and effects on healthcare provider expansion decisions.

• Requires examination of whether the "competitor's veto" (allowing marketplace competitors to testify against CON applications) should be eliminated and whether CON reform could improve emergency preparedness and healthcare access on neighbor islands.

• Mandates the Legislative Reference Bureau submit findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2026 Regular Session convenes.

• Responds to divided local opinions and Senate Bill 2123 (2024) by studying whether Hawaii's CON program—established in 1975 under a now-repealed federal mandate—remains necessary given that 12 states have repealed similar programs.