The People's Ledger
← All Hawaii bills

SB1509Introduced in the Senate

Relating To Prescription Drugs.

EngrossedHouse Consumer Protection & Commerce

Introduced by Ronald Kouchi, District 8

What does this bill do?

Plain-English breakdown

Writing a plain-English summary of this bill… this can take a few seconds the first time.

Official description

Requires the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study on best practices for the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers and reduction in prescription drug costs for health insurance plan beneficiaries. Requires a report to the Legislature. Effective 12/31/2050. (HD1)

Where it stands

Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

December 8, 2025

How did lawmakers vote?

SenateStage: Senate Health and Human Services: Passed, With Amendments · February 24, 2025

4

Yes

0

No

1

Absent or Not Voting

5 senators recorded in this Senate vote. Colors show vote categories only, not whether a vote was good or bad.

What do people think?

Citizen Voice

How would you vote on this bill?

An unofficial public opinion poll. It does not affect the bill or the official vote.

One response per device. Location is self-reported and not verified. Results are informal and not a scientific survey.

See how each senator voted

SenatorDistrictVote
Joy San Buenaventura2Yes
Troy Hashimoto5Yes
Henry Aquino19Yes
Kurt Fevella20Absent
Jarrett Keohokalole24Yes

Bill history

  1. Pending Introduction.

  2. Introduced and passed First Reading.

  3. Referred to HHS, CPN.

  4. Re-Referred to HHS/CPN.

  5. The committee(s) on HHS/CPN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-24-25 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

  6. The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Hashimoto, Keohokalole; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

  7. The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in CPN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, McKelvey, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga, Richards.

  8. Reported from HHS/CPN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 805) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and placement on the calendar for Third Reading.

  9. Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1).

  10. 48 Hrs. Notice 03-04-25.

  11. Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

  12. Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 360) in amended form (SD 1).

  13. Pass First Reading

  14. Referred to HLT, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 19

  15. Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Wednesday, 03-12-25 9:00AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  16. The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Chun, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.

  17. Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1233) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.

  18. Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Holt, Iwamoto, Ward excused (4).

  19. Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Wednesday, 03-19-25 2:00PM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  20. The committee(s) on CPC recommend(s) that the measure be deferred.

  21. Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

Verify the information

Our commitment to neutrality

We provide factual information only. We never tell you which politicians or bills to support, and we do not rank, score, or endorse anyone.