# Hawaii SB 1065: RELATING TO SKILLS-BASED HIRING.

Hawaii SB 1065, RELATING TO SKILLS-BASED HIRING., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) Senate bill sponsored by AQUINO; status signed, last action 2025-07-02 (Act 276, 07/02/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1379).); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-27).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1065-2025
- As of: 2026-10-27
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii SB 1065
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1)
- Title: RELATING TO SKILLS-BASED HIRING.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-01-17
- Last action: 2025-07-02, Act 276, 07/02/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1379).
- Sponsor: AQUINO
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: State and County Employees, Hiring Requirements, Skills-Based Hiring, Bachelor's Degree, Prohibition, Exemption, LAB, FIN
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 11 (218 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Prohibits the State or any of its departments, agencies, or political subdivisions from requiring a bachelor's degree as a condition of eligibility for hire to a position in state or county employment. Establishes exemptions. (CD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: AQUINO

## 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 | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-25 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-03 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-28 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-20 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-18 | House | The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 6 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-18 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 12 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-06 | Senate | The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-06 | Senate | The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |

## Actions (50)

- 2025-07-02: Act 276, 07/02/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1379). (Senate)
- 2025-07-02: Act 276, on 07/02/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1379). (House)
- 2025-05-02: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 821). (Senate)
- 2025-05-02: Enrolled to Governor. (Senate)
- 2025-05-01: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 888). (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 to reconvene on 04-25-25 2:30 PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-25 4:30 PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Senate Conferees Changed: Senators Lee, C. added as Co-Chair. Senator Hashimoto discharged as Co-Chair. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Received notice of change in Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 880). (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: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Aquino, McKelvey, Lee, C., Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 145). (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 145) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2025-04-25: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 04-30-25. (House)
- 2025-04-24: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-25 10:15AM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Senate Conferees Appointed: Aquino Chair; McKelvey, Hashimoto Co-Chairs; Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 860). (House)
- 2025-04-22: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-24-25 10:16AM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 754). (Senate)
- 2025-04-17: House Conferees Appointed: Sayama, Lee, M. Co-Chairs; Reyes Oda. (House)
- 2025-04-04: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 480). (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 590). (House)
- 2025-04-03: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1918), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-04-03: Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Woodson excused (2). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-03-28: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Alcos, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hussey, Ward. (House)
- 2025-03-25: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 03-28-25 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-20: Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1389) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House)
- 2025-03-20: 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, Ward excused (2). (House)
- 2025-03-18: The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Kong; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Reyes Oda; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2025-03-14: Bill scheduled to be heard by LAB on Tuesday, 03-18-25 9:30AM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-06: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2025-03-06: Referred to LAB, FIN, referral sheet 19 (House)
- 2025-03-04: Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 254) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2025-02-28: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 840) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-04-25. (Senate)
- 2025-02-18: The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. 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)
- 2025-02-14: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-18-25 10:01AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-02-12: Reported from LBT/GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 348) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-02-12: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in GVO were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) McKelvey, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard. (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in LBT were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Aquino, Moriwaki, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C., Ihara. (Senate)
- 2025-01-31: The committee(s) on LBT/GVO has scheduled a public hearing on 02-06-25 3:05PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-01-23: Referred to LBT/GVO, WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-01-21: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-01-17: Introduced. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1379_.PDF)
- SB1065_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_CD1_.HTM)
- SB1065_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_HD1_.HTM)
- SB1065_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_SD1_.HTM)
- SB1065_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_SD2_.HTM)

## 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/SB1065_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1379_.PDF)
- [SB1065_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB1065_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB1065_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_SD1_.HTM)
- [SB1065_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1065_SD2_.HTM)

## 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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1065-2025 (as of 2026-10-27).