# Hawaii HB 306: RELATING TO STATE WATER CODE PENALTIES.

Hawaii HB 306, RELATING TO STATE WATER CODE PENALTIES., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) House bill sponsored by Mahina Poepoe (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-05-08 (Recommitted to Conference committee as amended in CD 1 with none voting no and Representative(s) Ratcliffe excused.); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB306-2026
- 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 306
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO STATE WATER CODE PENALTIES.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-16
- Last action: 2026-05-08, Recommitted to Conference committee as amended in CD 1 with none voting no and Representative(s) Ratcliffe excused.
- Sponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 10
- Subjects: State Water Code, CWRM, Penalties, WLA, JDC/WAM
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 11 (185 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Adds a minimum penalty and maximum penalty per violation of the State Water Code and authorizes the Commission on Water Resource Management to consider each day that a violation exists or continues to exist a separate offense. Establishes factors the CWRM must consider when determining the amount of the penalty. Increases maximum fines every five years from 2030 to 2045. Effective 7/1/2040. (SD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tina Nakada Grandinetti (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kim Coco Iwamoto (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kirstin Kahaloa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mike Lee (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Nicole E. Lowen (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: M.
- Cosponsor: Lisa Marten (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Amy A. Perruso (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: David A. Tarnas (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Chris Todd (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-05-01 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2026-05-01 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-08 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-01 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-01 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 12 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-14 | Senate | The committee(s) on WTL recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-24 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-05 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 10 | 0 |   |
| 2025-01-30 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-01-28 | House | The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 9 | 0 |   |

## Actions (55)

- 2026-05-08: Recommitted to Conference committee as amended in CD 1 with none voting no and Representative(s) Ratcliffe excused. (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: Deferred one day 05-08-26. (House)
- 2026-05-06: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 11:35 AM; Conference Room 229. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: 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., Rhoads, Hashimoto; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Tarnas, Morikawa, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-05-01: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 196-26) 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. 196-26). (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26 (Senate)
- 2026-04-30: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 9:00AM; Conference Room 229. (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-30-26 9:00AM; Conference Room 229. (Senate)
- 2026-04-28: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-29-26 9:01AM; Conference Room 229. (Senate)
- 2026-04-27: Senate Conferees Appointed: Lee, C. Chairs; Rhoads, Hashimoto Co-Chairs. (Senate)
- 2026-04-27: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 782). (House)
- 2026-04-24: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 820). (Senate)
- 2026-04-23: House Conferees Appointed: Hashem, Tarnas, Morikawa Co-Chairs; Shimizu. (House)
- 2026-04-17: Re-Referred to WLA, JDC/WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457). (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: House Conferee(s) discharged. (House)
- 2025-12-08: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
- 2025-04-21: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 755). (Senate)
- 2025-04-17: House Conferees Appointed: Hashem, Poepoe, Lamosao Co-Chairs; Shimizu. (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. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Fevella. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 617) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2025-04-04: Reported from JDC/WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1679) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: One Day Notice 04-08-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-01: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-04-01: The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, Aquino, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) DeCoite. (Senate)
- 2025-03-27: The committee(s) on JDC/WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-01-25 10:00AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-03-21: Reported from WTL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1211) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC/WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-03-21: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC/WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-03-14: The committee(s) on WTL recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WTL were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Elefante, Chang, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) McKelvey. (Senate)
- 2025-03-10: The committee(s) on WTL has scheduled a public hearing on 03-14-25 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 209). (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: Referred to WTL, JDC/WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick, Ward excused (2). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-02-28: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1149), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-02-24: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Morikawa, Templo, Alcos, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Lamosao, Miyake; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Ward. (House)
- 2025-02-21: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Monday, 02-24-25 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-02-14: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 742) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN. (House)
- 2025-02-14: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Matayoshi, Poepoe, Ward excused (4). (House)
- 2025-02-05: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. 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)
- 2025-01-31: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 02-05-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-01-30: Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 22) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2025-01-30: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2). (House)
- 2025-01-28: The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Lamosao, Belatti, Ichiyama, Morikawa, Poepoe, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto, Souza; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Woodson. (House)
- 2025-01-24: Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Tuesday, 01-28-25 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-01-21: Referred to WAL, 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/session2026/bills/HB306_CD1_.pdf)
- HB306_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_CD1_.HTM)
- HB306_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_HD1_.HTM)
- HB306_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_HD2_.HTM)
- HB306_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_SD1_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_.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/HB306_CD1_.pdf)
- [HB306_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_CD1_.HTM)
- [HB306_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB306_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_HD2_.HTM)
- [HB306_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_SD1_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB306_.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)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB306-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).