CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 198

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 1434

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

C.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir and Madam:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1434, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNIVERSAL IMMUNIZATION FUNDING PROGRAM,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Universal Immunization Funding Program as a universal funding model for immunization purchases by the Department of Health, to increase statewide access to immunizations for all persons under age sixty-five; and

(2) Establish the Universal Immunization Purchase Special Fund, into which fees collected from assessed entities and other sources of funding will be deposited, for purposes of bulk purchasing immunizations and administering the program.

Your Committee on Conference finds that "Universal Purchase" or "Universal Select" (collectively, UP) programs are programs that enable states to leverage bulk purchasing and federal immunization programs to establish a streamlined procurement, oversight, and distribution system for all recommended vaccines for children and adults. Your Committee on Conference further finds that providers currently take on considerable risk because of the need to pay for their private sector immunization supplies up front, as well as incurring other expenses such as secure and temperature-controlled storage. By centralizing public and private sector immunization procurement and leveraging bulk purchasing power through federal or state consortium contracts, this measure lowers private-sector costs and improves access to needed immunizations for all keiki, families, and communities statewide.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have appropriated funds out of the general revenues of the state to be deposited into the Universal Immunization Purchase Special Fund;

(2) Inserting an appropriation amount of $934,000 out of the Universal Immunization Purchase Special Fund for fiscal year 2025-2026 to be expended by the Department of Health for the purchase of immunizations and the administration of the Universal Immunization Funding Program;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2025; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1434, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1434, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ GREGG TAKAYAMA Co-Chair	____________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA Chair
____________________________ SUE L. KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY Co-Chair	____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE Co-Chair