Bill > HB36

This bill prohibits the use of "excited delirium" as a medical diagnosis or cause of death in Hawaii, effectively banning medical professionals, coroners, and law enforcement officers from using this term in official documents or communications. The bill defines excited delirium as a non-scientifically recognized condition describing a person's state of extreme agitation, paranoia, aggression, and apparent pain insensitivity, which is not included in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Under this legislation, medical examiners and healthcare providers must list specific contributing causes of death without referencing excited delirium, law enforcement officers cannot mention the term in incident reports, and the term is also deemed inadmissible as evidence in civil actions. By establishing these restrictions across medical documentation, law enforcement reporting, and legal proceedings, the bill aims to prevent the use of a potentially subjective and scientifically unsupported medical description. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 3000, though this date is likely a placeholder and would be adjusted in the actual implementation.

Health and Social Services, Justice

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=36&year=2026