# Hawaii HB 961: RELATING TO EDUCATION. Hawaii HB 961, RELATING TO EDUCATION., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) House bill sponsored by Jenna Takenouchi (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-05-30 (Act 135, 05/30/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1235).) (as of 2026-10-27). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB961-2025 - 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 961 - State: Hawaii - Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) - Title: RELATING TO EDUCATION. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-21 - Last action: 2025-05-30, Act 135, 05/30/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1235). - Sponsor: Jenna Takenouchi (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 13 - Subjects: Department of Education, Librarian Pilot Program, Education, Appropriations, EDU, WAM - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 10 (218 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 1 ## Summary Establishes a two-year Librarian Pilot Program to serve one school complex on Oahu and one school complex on an island other than Oahu. Appropriates funds. (CD1) ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More librarian help for selected Hawaii schools: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, Hawaii's Department of Education runs a two-year pilot with two full-time certified librarians providing rotating library services. The department selects one public school complex on Oahu and one on a neighbor island. General revenues provide $132,308 in fiscal year 2025-20… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Jenna Takenouchi (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Cory M. Chun (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Kirstin Kahaloa (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Darius K. Kila (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Lisa Kitagawa (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: LAMOSAO - Cosponsor: Mike Lee (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Nicole E. Lowen (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: M. - Cosponsor: Lisa Marten (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Tyson K. Miyake (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Adrian K. Tam (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Chris Todd (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-30 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 0 | | | 2025-04-25 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 | | | 2025-04-25 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 0 | | | 2025-04-08 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 | | | 2025-04-02 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 13 | 0 | | | 2025-03-12 | Senate | The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2025-02-27 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 47 | 0 | | | 2025-02-20 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 14 | 0 | | | 2025-02-12 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 48 | 0 | | | 2025-02-06 | House | The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 11 | 0 | | ## Actions (47) - 2025-05-30: Act 135, 05/30/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1235). (Senate) - 2025-05-30: Act 135, on 05/30/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1235). (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, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none. (Senate) - 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick excused (2). (House) - 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 2:50PM in conference room 229. (House) - 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 4:40PM in conference room 229. (House) - 2025-04-25: 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) Kidani, Kim, Kanuha; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) DeCorte. (Senate) - 2025-04-25: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) La Chica, Takenouchi, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House) - 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 241) as amended in (CD 1). (House) - 2025-04-25: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 04-30-25. (House) - 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 241). (Senate) - 2025-04-25: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25 (Senate) - 2025-04-24: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 1:30PM in conference room 229. (House) - 2025-04-23: Senate Conferees Appointed: Kidani Chair; Kim Co-Chair; Kanuha, DeCorte. (Senate) - 2025-04-23: Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Thursday, 04-24-25 3:05PM in conference room 229. (House) - 2025-04-23: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 873). (House) - 2025-04-15: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 732). (Senate) - 2025-04-14: House Conferees Appointed: La Chica, Takenouchi Co-Chairs; Souza. (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: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate) - 2025-04-08: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 696) in amended form (SD 1). (House) - 2025-04-04: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1777) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate) - 2025-04-04: One Day Notice 04-08-25. (Senate) - 2025-04-02: 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, Aquino, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate) - 2025-03-27: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-02-25 10:01AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1161) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate) - 2025-03-12: The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kidani, Kim, Hashimoto, Kanuha, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate) - 2025-03-07: The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-12-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference. (Senate) - 2025-03-04: Referred to EDU, WAM. (Senate) - 2025-02-28: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 43). (Senate) - 2025-02-28: Passed First Reading. (Senate) - 2025-02-27: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 856), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House) - 2025-02-27: Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick, Templo, Ward excused (4). Transmitted to Senate. (House) - 2025-02-20: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos, Ward. (House) - 2025-02-18: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 02-20-25 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House) - 2025-02-12: Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 462) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House) - 2025-02-12: 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 Representative(s) Cochran, Sayama, Ward excused (3). (House) - 2025-02-06: The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 11 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Sayama, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House) - 2025-02-03: Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Thursday, 02-06-25 2:00PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House) - 2025-01-23: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House) - 2025-01-23: Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 3 (House) - 2025-01-21: Pending introduction. (House) ## Bill text - Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_CD1_.pdf) - HB961_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_CD1_.HTM) - HB961_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_HD1_.HTM) - HB961_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_SD1_.HTM) - Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1235_.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/HB961_CD1_.pdf) - [HB961_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_CD1_.HTM) - [HB961_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_HD1_.HTM) - [HB961_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_SD1_.HTM) - [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/HB961_.HTM) - [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1235_.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) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB961-2025 (as of 2026-10-27).