Bill > SB1323

This bill adopts the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (2023), which updates and consolidates Hawaii's existing laws on advance health care directives and advance mental health care directives. The bill creates a comprehensive new legal framework for making health care decisions when an individual is unable to do so themselves, introducing several key innovations. It expands the definition of capacity to include individuals who can communicate decisions with appropriate assistance, allows for more flexible creation of advance directives, and introduces a new "Ulysses clause" that permits individuals to prevent themselves from revoking a mental health care directive during specific psychiatric events. The legislation standardizes the process for selecting default surrogates to make health care decisions, provides detailed guidelines for agents and surrogates, and establishes clear protections against potential abuse. Additionally, the bill repeals the existing chapters on health care directives (Chapters 327E and 327G) and makes conforming amendments to various other sections of Hawaii's statutes to align with the new legal framework. The new law will take effect upon approval and will apply to advance health care directives created before, on, or after January 1, 2026, ensuring a smooth transition and continued validity of existing directives.

Health and Social Services, Justice

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=1323&year=2026