# Hawaii HB 228: RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES.

Hawaii HB 228, RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) House bill sponsored by Darius K. Kila (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-05-29 (Act 124, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1224).) (as of 2026-10-27).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB228-2025
- As of: 2026-10-27
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii HB 228
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1)
- Title: RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-16
- Last action: 2025-05-29, Act 124, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1224).
- Sponsor: Darius K. Kila (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Subjects: License Plates, Obstruction, License Plate Flipping Devices, Prohibition, Fines, TCA, CPN/JDC
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 13 (237 yes, 10 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Prohibits the use of license plate flipping devices. Prohibits the obstruction of a license plate. Establishes minimum and maximum fines. (CD1)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Fines for hidden or covered plates: cost, medium. The law bans driving on Hawaii public roads with a device that switches plates or flips a plate to hide its number. It also bans possessing, buying, installing, selling, offering for sale, or distributing such a device. Each act is a separate violation, with a fine of $750 to $1,000. Covers or shie…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Darius K. Kila (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Cory M. Chun (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kirstin Kahaloa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: LAMOSAO
- Cosponsor: Tyson K. Miyake (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jenna Takenouchi (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-30 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 48 | 2 |   |
| 2025-04-30 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 24 | 1 |   |
| 2025-04-24 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-24 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-08 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 24 | 1 |   |
| 2025-04-01 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2025-04-01 | Senate | The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 1 |   |
| 2025-03-13 | Senate | The committee(s) on TCA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-28 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 45 | 2 |   |
| 2025-02-21 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 13 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-12 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 10 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-04 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 46 | 2 |   |
| 2025-01-28 | House | The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 8 | 0 |   |

## Actions (55)

- 2025-05-29: Act 124, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1224). (Senate)
- 2025-05-29: Act 124, on 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1224). (House)
- 2025-05-02: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 821). (Senate)
- 2025-05-01: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 888). (House)
- 2025-05-01: Transmitted to Governor. (House)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Awa). Excused, 0 (none). (Senate)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Muraoka voting no (2) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). (House)
- 2025-04-24: 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., Fukunaga, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Chang. (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Tarnas, Grandinetti, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2025-04-24: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 82) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2025-04-24: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 04-30-25. (House)
- 2025-04-24: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 82). (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25 (Senate)
- 2025-04-23: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-25 10:30AM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-23-25 10:30AM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Senate Conferees Changed: Senator Keohokalole discharged as Co-Chair. Senator Fukunaga added as Co-Chair. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Received notice of change in Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 864). (House)
- 2025-04-21: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-22-25 10:30AM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-17: Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Monday, 04-21-25 9:00AM in conference room 329. (House)
- 2025-04-15: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 732). (Senate)
- 2025-04-15: Senate Conferees Appointed: Lee, C. Chairs; Keohokalole, Chang Co-Chairs; Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-15: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 790). (House)
- 2025-04-14: House Conferees Appointed: Kila, Tarnas, Grandinetti Co-Chairs; Muraoka. (House)
- 2025-04-11: Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 704). (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: House disagrees with Senate amendment (s). (House)
- 2025-04-08: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Awa). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 605) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2025-04-04: Reported from CPN/JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1727) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: 48 Hrs. Notice 04-08-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-01: The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in CPN were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fukunaga, McKelvey, Richards; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-04-01: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) San Buenaventura. (Senate)
- 2025-03-24: The committee(s) on CPN/JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-01-25 9:30AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-03-21: Reported from TCA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1306) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPN/JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-03-21: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to CPN/JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-03-13: The committee(s) on TCA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TCA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Elefante, Kanuha, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-03-11: The committee(s) on TCA deferred the measure until 03-13-25 3:02PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-03-07: The committee(s) on TCA has scheduled a public hearing on 03-11-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 90). (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Referred to TCA, CPN/JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 927), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-02-28: Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu voting no (2) and Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick, Templo, Ward excused (4). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-02-21: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 13 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Lee, M., Alcos, Ward. (House)
- 2025-02-19: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 02-21-25 12:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-02-14: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 699), recommending referral to FIN. (House)
- 2025-02-14: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Muraoka voting no (2) and Representative(s) Cochran, Matayoshi, Poepoe, Ward excused (4). (House)
- 2025-02-12: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Perruso, Takayama, Todd, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran. (House)
- 2025-02-07: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 02-12-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-02-04: Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 73) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2025-02-04: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with Representative(s) Matsumoto voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Muraoka voting no (2) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kong, Ward excused (3). (House)
- 2025-01-28: The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Grandinetti, Evslin, Kitagawa, La Chica, Miyake, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran. (House)
- 2025-01-24: Bill scheduled to be heard by TRN on Tuesday, 01-28-25 10:00AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-01-21: Referred to TRN, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 1 (House)
- 2025-01-17: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House)
- 2025-01-16: Pending introduction. (House)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_CD1_.pdf)
- HB228_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_CD1_.HTM)
- HB228_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_HD1_.HTM)
- HB228_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_SD1_.HTM)
- HB228_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_SD2_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1224_.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION. (signed)
- SB 1044: RELATING TO THE STABILIZATION OF PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)
- SB 1231: RELATING TO PARENTAGE. (signed)
- SB 935: RELATING TO GOVERNMENT. (signed)
- HB 703: RELATING TO KUPUNA HOUSING. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_CD1_.pdf)
- [HB228_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_CD1_.HTM)
- [HB228_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB228_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_SD1_.HTM)
- [HB228_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_SD2_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB228_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1224_.PDF)

## Related
- [HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB431-2025)
- [HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1064-2025)
- [SB 1044: RELATING TO THE STABILIZATION OF PROPERTY INSURANCE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1044-2025)
- [SB 1231: RELATING TO PARENTAGE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1231-2025)
- [SB 935: RELATING TO GOVERNMENT.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB935-2025)
- [HB 703: RELATING TO KUPUNA HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB703-2025)
- [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-HB228-2025 (as of 2026-10-27).