# Hawaii SB 1571: RELATING TO TOURISM.

Hawaii SB 1571, RELATING TO TOURISM., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) Senate bill sponsored by Lynn DeCoite (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-05-29 (Act 132, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1232).); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-27).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1571-2025
- 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 1571
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1)
- Title: RELATING TO TOURISM.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-01-22
- Last action: 2025-05-29, Act 132, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1232).
- Sponsor: Lynn DeCoite (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Subjects: Hawaii Tourism Authority, Positions, Civil Service Exemption, Convention Center, Hawaii Sense of Place, Board of Directors, President and CEO, TOU, LAB, FIN
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 13 (224 yes, 28 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

Exempts all positions filled by the Hawaii Tourism Authority within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism from the state civil service law. Amends the definition of "convention center facility" for purposes of chapter 201B, HRS, to clarify that the facilities must reflect a Hawaii sense of place. Designates the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board of Directors (Board) as an advisory board. Removes the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism as a member of the Board. Requires a member of the Board to represent a tourism-impacted entity. Provides that the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives each appoints a member of the Board. Makes the President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority a position appointed by the Board, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority to report to the Governor. Amends the eligibility requirements to serve on the Board. Provides that the President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority's length of term of service shall be set by written contract by the Board. (CD1)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Community partnerships protect Native Hawaiian culture: benefit, low. Hawaii’s visitor-industry policy now allows community partnerships to help protect Native Hawaiian cultural integrity. These partnerships aim to support care for land and cultural and natural resources. They can also help protect sensitive places from visitor traffic and, where appropriate, cultura…
- Tourism authority jobs leave civil service: cost, low. Positions filled by the Hawaii Tourism Authority within the state business and economic development department are no longer covered by civil service. The law does not change the pay or benefits for these employees.
- Tourism authority powers face new limits: mixed, low. The Hawaii Tourism Authority can use its listed powers unless another law says otherwise. The law removes the prior limit tying those powers to the chapter governing the authority. It does not specify a direct household payment, benefit, or cost.
- Tourism board shifts to advisory role: mixed, low. The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s 12-member board now advises rather than makes policy. The Senate president and House speaker each appoint one member. The board must include a representative from Honolulu and each of the other three counties, at least six tourism-industry experts, a governor-appointe…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Lynn DeCoite (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Donna Mercado Kim (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Glenn Wakai (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-30 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 23 | 2 |   |
| 2025-04-30 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 44 | 6 |   |
| 2025-04-25 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-25 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-08 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 41 | 9 |   |
| 2025-03-28 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-18 | House | The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 5 | 1 |   |
| 2025-03-13 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on LAB... | pass | 41 | 6 |   |
| 2025-03-11 | House | The committee on TOU recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 23 | 2 |   |
| 2025-02-28 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 11 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-06 | Senate | The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2025-02-06 | Senate | The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 1 |   |

## Actions (57)

- 2025-05-29: Act 132, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1232). (Senate)
- 2025-05-29: Act 132, on 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1232). (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, 23; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 2 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte). Excused, 0 (none). (Senate)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda voting no (6) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). (House)
- 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 04-25-25 at 4:30PM in Conference Room 411. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 04-25-25 at 5:15PM in Conference Room 411. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-25 5:15 PM; Conference Room 411. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Aquino, Wakai, Kim, 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) Tam, Templo, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Sayama. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 216). (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday 04-30-25. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 216) 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 will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 10:30AM in conference room 411. (House)
- 2025-04-23: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-25 9:31AM; Conference Room 411. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-23-25 9:50AM; Conference Room 411. (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 757). (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-22-25 10:03AM; Conference Room 411. (Senate)
- 2025-04-17: House Conferees Appointed: Tam, Sayama, Templo Co-Chairs; Matsumoto. (House)
- 2025-04-17: Senate Conferees Appointed: DeCoite Chair; Aquino, Wakai Co-Chairs; Kim, Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-17: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 829). (House)
- 2025-04-10: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 697). (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 779). (House)
- 2025-04-08: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Amato, Garcia, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu voting no (9) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-04-04: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2021) as amended in HD 3, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-04-04: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 04-08-25. (House)
- 2025-03-28: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. 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. 1392) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN. (House)
- 2025-03-20: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Amato, Pierick voting no (2) 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: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Kong; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Reyes Oda; 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)
- 2025-03-13: Reported from TOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1186) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to LAB. (House)
- 2025-03-13: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on LAB with Representative(s) Matsumoto voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Amato, Garcia, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda voting no (6) and Representative(s) Cochran, Holt, Ward, Woodson excused (4). (House)
- 2025-03-11: The committee on TOU recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tam, Templo, Holt, Hussey, Ilagan, Todd, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2025-03-07: Bill scheduled to be heard by TOU on Tuesday, 03-11-25 10:30AM in House conference room 423 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-06: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2025-03-06: Referred to TOU, LAB, FIN, referral sheet 19 (House)
- 2025-03-04: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 23; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante, Inouye. Noes, 2 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 370) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2025-02-28: The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 11 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, Aquino, DeCoite, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kim, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante, Fevella ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Lee, C.. (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1011) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-04-25. (Senate)
- 2025-02-26: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-28-25 10:35AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-02-13: Reported from EDT/LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 449) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-02-13: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-02-06: The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Fukunaga, Kim; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none. (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, Lee, C., Moriwaki; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Fevella; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara. (Senate)
- 2025-02-03: The committee(s) on EDT/LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 02-06-25 1:10PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-01-27: Referred to EDT/LBT, WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-01-23: Introduced and passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-01-22: Pending Introduction. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1232_.PDF)
- SB1571_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_CD1_.HTM)
- SB1571_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_HD1_.HTM)
- SB1571_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_HD2_.HTM)
- SB1571_HD3: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_HD3_.HTM)
- SB1571_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_SD1_.HTM)
- SB1571_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_SD2_.HTM)

## Related bills

- HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 420: RELATING TO REMEDIES. (signed)
- SB 1296: RELATING TO DISASTER RECOVERY. (signed)
- HB 830: RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEWS. (signed)
- HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION. (signed)
- SB 1044: RELATING TO THE STABILIZATION OF PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1232_.PDF)
- [SB1571_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB1571_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB1571_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_HD2_.HTM)
- [SB1571_HD3 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_HD3_.HTM)
- [SB1571_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_SD1_.HTM)
- [SB1571_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB1571_SD2_.HTM)

## Related
- [HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB431-2025)
- [HB 420: RELATING TO REMEDIES.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB420-2025)
- [SB 1296: RELATING TO DISASTER RECOVERY.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1296-2025)
- [HB 830: RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEWS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB830-2025)
- [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)
- [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-SB1571-2025 (as of 2026-10-27).