# Hawaii HB 2540: RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Hawaii HB 2540, RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) House bill sponsored by Della Au Belatti (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-04-17 (Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2540-2026
- 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 2540
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-28
- Last action: 2026-04-17, Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780).
- Sponsor: Della Au Belatti (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Subjects: Law Enforcement Officers, Law Enforcement Agencies, Facial Coverings, Visible Identification, Civil Immigration Enforcement, PSM/EIG, JDC
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 8 (132 yes, 21 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Prohibits with certain exceptions, the use of facial coverings and requires visible identification by law enforcement officers and their vehicles in the performance of their duties. Requires state and county law enforcement agencies to establish policies regarding state and county cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement. Prohibits law enforcement officers from prolonging a stop to inquire about a person's civil immigration status. Establishes criminal offenses for use of a mask or facial covering by a law enforcement officer, lack of visible identification, and unauthorized civil immigration arrest or detention. Effective 3/22/2075. (SD2)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Della Au Belatti (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tina Nakada Grandinetti (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Ikaika Hussey (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kim Coco Iwamoto (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jeanne Kapela (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Lisa Marten (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Amy A. Perruso (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kanani Souza (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Adrian K. Tam (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-14 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 22 | 3 |   |
| 2026-04-07 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-23 | Senate | The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2026-03-23 | Senate | The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 2 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 42 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 2 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 44 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 0 |   |

## Actions (27)

- 2026-04-17: Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780). (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: House disagrees with Senate amendment (s). (House)
- 2026-04-14: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 700) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2026-04-10: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3805) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: 48 Hrs. Notice 04-14-26. (Senate)
- 2026-04-07: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa. (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Reported from PSM/EIG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3239) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EIG were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Richards ; 2 No(es): Senator(s) DeCoite, Fevella; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in PSM were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Fukunaga, Lee, C., Hashimoto; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) DeCorte; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Inouye. (Senate)
- 2026-03-16: The committee(s) on PSM/EIG has scheduled a public hearing on 03-23-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 434). (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to PSM/EIG, JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Kila voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Kong, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Shimizu voting no (7) and Representative(s) Pierick excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1121-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-03-06: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26. (House)
- 2026-02-25: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti. (House)
- 2026-02-23: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 02-25-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 428-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2026-02-18: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick voting no (6) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-02-06: The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Holt, Tam, Templo, Yamashita; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Gedeon; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-02-02: Referred to ECD, JHA, referral sheet 6 (House)
- 2026-02-02: Bill scheduled to be heard by ECD on Friday, 02-06-26 8:30AM in House conference room 423 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-01-28: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_SD2_.pdf)
- HB2540_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_HD1_.HTM)
- HB2540_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_HD2_.HTM)
- HB2540_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_SD1_.HTM)
- HB2540_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_SD2_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS. (became law)
- HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES. (signed)
- HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 1973: RELATING TO HEALTH. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_SD2_.pdf)
- [HB2540_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB2540_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_HD2_.HTM)
- [HB2540_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_SD1_.HTM)
- [HB2540_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_SD2_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB2540_.PDF)

## Related
- [SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB847-2026)
- [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 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2338-2026)
- [HB 1973: RELATING TO HEALTH.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1973-2026)
- [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-HB2540-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).