# Hawaii HB 1815: RELATING TO THE STATE FOUNDATION ON CULTURE AND THE ARTS.

Hawaii HB 1815, RELATING TO THE STATE FOUNDATION ON CULTURE AND THE ARTS., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) House bill sponsored by Jeanne Kapela (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-08 (Act 122, 06/08/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1222).); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1815-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii HB 1815
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO THE STATE FOUNDATION ON CULTURE AND THE ARTS.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-22
- Last action: 2026-06-08, Act 122, 06/08/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1222).
- Sponsor: Jeanne Kapela (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: SFCA, Performing Arts Grants Program, Grants, King Kamehameha Celebration Commission, DAGS, DBEDT, Comptroller, Works of Art Special Fund, Transfer, Positions, WLA, WAM
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 10 (223 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Explicitly applies existing grant standards to Performing Arts Grants Program grants under the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Effective 7/13/2085. (SD1)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Job protections for transferred state employees: benefit, high. Beginning July 1, 2026, transferred state employees with tenure keep their pay, seniority, service credit, leave, and other benefits. Eligible employees can enter a civil service job without an exam if they meet its minimum qualifications. If a tenured employee’s job is abolished, they keep state e…
- Stricter rules for arts grant applicants: cost, low. The law applies the State Foundation’s grant rules to Performing Arts Grants too. Grant awards require contracts, and the foundation monitors grants and reviews results each year. A recipient found to have violated the law or a grant contract cannot apply for either type of grant for five years aft…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Jeanne Kapela (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-05-06 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 51 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-30 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-30 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-10 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-08 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 13 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-16 | Senate | The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 16 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 51 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | The committee on CAA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 6 | 0 |   |

## Actions (49)

- 2026-06-08: Act 122, 06/08/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1222). (Senate)
- 2026-06-08: Act 122, on 06/08/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1222). (House)
- 2026-05-08: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888). (Senate)
- 2026-05-07: Transmitted to Governor. (House)
- 2026-05-06: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-05-06: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-05-06: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 113-26) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26. (House)
- 2026-05-01: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 113-26). (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26 (Senate)
- 2026-04-30: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Kapela, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Quinlan, Alcos; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-04-30: The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-30-26 10:30AM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2026-04-28: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Wednesday 04-29-26 10:30AM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2026-04-27: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 10:30AM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2026-04-24: Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Monday, 04-27-26 10:30AM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2026-04-21: House Conferees Changed: Representative Keohokapu-Lee Loy added as Co-Chair. Representative Quinlan added as Conferee. Representative Hartsfield discharged as Co-Chair. (House)
- 2026-04-21: Received notice of change in conferees (Hse. Com. No. 801). (Senate)
- 2026-04-21: Senate Conferees Appointed: Lee, C. Chairs; Inouye Co-Chair; DeCorte. (Senate)
- 2026-04-21: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 717). (House)
- 2026-04-20: House Conferees Appointed: Kapela, Hartsfield Co-Chairs; Alcos. (House)
- 2026-04-20: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 786). (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 599). (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: House disagrees with Senate amendment (s). (House)
- 2026-04-10: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 530) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2026-04-09: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3646) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-04-09: One Day Notice 04-10-26. (Senate)
- 2026-04-08: The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-04-06: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-08-26 10:02AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Reported from WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3245) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-03-16: The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Chang, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: The committee(s) on WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 03-16-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Referred to WLA, WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 52). (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 767-26), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-03-05: Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-02-26: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-02-24: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 02-26-26 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-02-06: Reported from CAA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 34-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House)
- 2026-02-06: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-02-04: The committee on CAA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Kapela, Kong, Garrett, Lee, M., Sayama, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-01-30: Bill scheduled to be heard by CAA on Wednesday, 02-04-26 9:30AM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-01-26: Referred to CAA, FIN, referral sheet 1 (House)
- 2026-01-23: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House)
- 2026-01-22: Pending introduction. (House)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_CD1_.pdf)
- HB1815_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_CD1_.HTM)
- HB1815_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_HD1_.HTM)
- HB1815_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_SD1_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1222_.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS. (became law)
- SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES. (signed)
- HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- SB 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_CD1_.pdf)
- [HB1815_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_CD1_.HTM)
- [HB1815_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB1815_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_SD1_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1815_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1222_.PDF)

## Related
- [SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB847-2026)
- [SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2338-2026)
- [HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2344-2026)
- [HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2023-2026)
- [HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2021-2026)
- [SB 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2964-2026)
- [Hawaii bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii/bills)
- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1815-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).