# Hawaii SB 2109: RELATING TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMUNICATIONS.

Hawaii SB 2109, RELATING TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMUNICATIONS., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Mike Gabbard (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-05-01 (Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 3:30 PM; Conference Room 016.) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2109-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii SB 2109
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMUNICATIONS.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-05-01, Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 3:30 PM; Conference Room 016.
- Sponsor: Mike Gabbard (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Subjects: HIEMA, Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Communications, Limited English Proficiency, Language Access, Official Announcements, American Sign Language, Sign Language Interpreter, Program, Reports, Appropriations, PBS, FIN
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (160 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Requires the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to develop and implement a statewide public education and communications program to promote household emergency preparedness consistent with the Agency's 14-day essential supplies recommendation. Requires the Governor or mayor of a county to provide an American Sign Language interpreter during each official live broadcast during a state of emergency. Requires the Governor or mayor of a county to ensure, to the fullest extent possible, that the American Sign Language interpreter's face, body, arms, and hands are visible during the broadcast. Requires the Governor or mayor of a county to provide a primary pool feed that includes the American Sign Language interpreter in a picture‑in‑picture window. Requires reports to the Legislature prior to the Regular Sessions of 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Mike Gabbard (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Carol Fukunaga (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Troy N. Hashimoto (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Michelle N. Kidani (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Glenn Wakai (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-14 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 50 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-07 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 16 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-30 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 46 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-27 | House | The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 6 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 12 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (44)

- 2026-05-01: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 3:30 PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 4:30 PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 5:10 PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 5:40 PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 5:51 PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2026-04-30: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 877). (Senate)
- 2026-04-30: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 05-01-26 1:45PM; Conference Room 016. (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: House Conferees Appointed: Belatti, Morikawa Co-Chairs; Iwamoto, Templo, Shimizu. (House)
- 2026-04-21: Senate Conferees Appointed: Fukunaga Chair; Lee, C. Co-Chairs; Inouye, DeCorte. (Senate)
- 2026-04-21: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 718). (House)
- 2026-04-16: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 625). (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 710). (House)
- 2026-04-14: Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-04-10: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2102-26), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-04-07: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hussey, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-04-02: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Tuesday, 04-07-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-30: Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1562-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House)
- 2026-03-30: 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, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4). (House)
- 2026-03-27: The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Belatti, Iwamoto, Hashem, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Ichiyama, Morikawa, Poepoe. (House)
- 2026-03-25: The committee(s) on PBS recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 03-27-26 11:00AM. (House)
- 2026-03-25: Bill scheduled for decision making on Friday, 03-27-26 11:00AM in conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-20: The committee(s) on PBS recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 03-25-26 11:00AM. (House)
- 2026-03-20: Bill scheduled for decision making on Wednesday, 03-25-26 11:00AM in conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-18: Bill scheduled to be heard by PBS on Friday, 03-20-26 10:30AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-12: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to PBS, FIN, referral sheet 17 (House)
- 2026-03-10: 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)
- 2026-03-10: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 172) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2944) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-10-26. (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: 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, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-03-26 10:17AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Reported from PSM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2642) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in PSM were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Fukunaga, Lee, C., Hashimoto, Inouye, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: The committee(s) on PSM will hold a public decision making on 02-18-26 3:01PM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: The committee on PSM has deleted the measure from decision making scheduled on 02-11-26 3:00PM; CR 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: The committee(s) on PSM will hold a public decision making on 02-11-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: The committee on PSM deferred the measure. (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: The committee(s) on PSM has scheduled a public hearing on 01-28-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Referred to PSM, WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Introduced and passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-01-14: Pending Introduction. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_HD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_.PDF)
- SB2109_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_HD1_.HTM)
- SB2109_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_SD1_.HTM)
- SB2109_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_SD2_.HTM)

## 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)
- SB 2031: RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_HD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_.PDF)
- [SB2109_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB2109_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_SD1_.HTM)
- [SB2109_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2109_SD2_.HTM)

## 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)
- [SB 2031: RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2031-2026)
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- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2109-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).