Senate Standing Committee on Health and Human Services

Good afternoon. Mahalo for joining us for today's health and human service hearing on Tuesday, 03/31/2026 at 3:15 PM, Conference Room 225. This meeting is being streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event that it abruptly ends due to tech difficulties, we will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business at 3:30pm, Thursday, 04/02/2026, in this room, 225, where the public notice being posted on the ledge's website. In order to facilitate the hearing in timely manner, we'll stick to the HHS standard of one minute limit on testimony.

And if you've submitted written, we please implore you to stand on it unless there's more you'd like to add. We have one measure, governor's message 791, submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Board of Certification of Operating Personal and Wastewater Treatment Plants, gubernatorial nominee, Virgilio Viernes. Is that correct? Okay.

For term to expire on 06/30/2029. Okay. We have you to come testify or appear to testify for Department Environmental Health Administration for departmental. Okay. Please come up.

Good afternoon, chair, vice chair, members of the committee. John Nagato, Department of Health, Wastewater Branch. The department stands on its written testimony in support.

Okay. Thank you so much. Good to see experienced people there. And that's all we've received on the measure for the nominees. There nobody else in the audience to testify and nobody on Zoom. Members, are there any questions of Department of Health?

Ricky, is there anyone on Zoom?

No one present on Zoom, chair.

Is Virgilio Viernes available at all?

No, chair.

So, we gotta defer it then, I guess. Right?

Yeah. Let's go defer it. Next decision.

Alright. Well, we're gonna go ahead then on this measure because the nominee is not here to answer questions. We're gonna go ahead and defer this, and we'll go ahead and post a reconvene notice when we can make a decision when the nominee can hopefully be here.

Okay? Alright. With that, we will adjourn.