# Hawaii SB 2143: RELATING TO THE CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER.

Hawaii SB 2143, RELATING TO THE CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Karl Rhoads (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-05-22 (Act 025, 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1125).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2143-2026
- 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 2143
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO THE CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-05-22, Act 025, 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1125).
- Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Subjects: Elections Commission, Chief Election Officer, Vacancy, Order of Succession, JHA
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 9 (189 yes, 29 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Establishes an order of succession for an Interim Chief Election Officer in the event of a vacancy in the position of Chief Election Officer until the Elections Commission appoints a new Chief Election Officer. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Stanley Chang (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Kurt Fevella (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Troy N. Hashimoto (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Herbert M. "Tim" Richards III (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Joy A. San Buenaventura (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-05-06 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 42 | 9 |   |
| 2026-05-01 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 22 | 2 |   |
| 2026-04-27 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-27 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2026-04-06 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 41 | 6 |   |
| 2026-04-01 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 44 | 6 |   |
| 2026-03-17 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 3 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 24 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |

## Actions (40)

- 2026-05-22: Act 025, 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1125). (Senate)
- 2026-05-22: Act 025, on 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1125). (House)
- 2026-05-08: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888). (Senate)
- 2026-05-07: Enrolled to Governor. (Senate)
- 2026-05-06: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Reyes Oda, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Hartsfield, Kila, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Shimizu voting no (9) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-05-05: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 814). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Deferred one day 05-06-26. (House)
- 2026-05-01: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 2 (Senator(s) Awa, Fevella). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Fukunaga). (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 26-26). (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-01-26. (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 26-26) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2026-04-29: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 05-01-26. (House)
- 2026-04-27: 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) Rhoads, Chang, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard. (Senate)
- 2026-04-27: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Belatti, Poepoe; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-04-24: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-27-26 2:20PM; Conference Room 325. (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Senate Conferees Appointed: Rhoads Chair; Chang, Gabbard, Fevella. (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 723). (House)
- 2026-04-20: House Conferees Appointed: Tarnas Chair; Belatti, Poepoe, Garcia. (House)
- 2026-04-20: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 787). (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 564). (House)
- 2026-04-07: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 473). (Senate)
- 2026-04-07: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2026-04-06: Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Kila, Reyes Oda, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Shimizu voting no (6) and Representative(s) Cochran, Olds, Quinlan excused (3). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-04-01: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1590-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and placement on the calendar for Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-04-01: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1; placed on the calendar for Third Reading with Representative(s) Matsumoto, Reyes Oda, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Muraoka, Shimizu voting no (6) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-03-17: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: none; 3 Noes: Representative(s) Cochran, Garcia, Shimizu; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-03-12: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to JHA, referral sheet 17 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Tuesday, 03-17-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Awa). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 178) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2026-03-05: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2806) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and placement on the calendar for Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1). (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-10-26. (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) San Buenaventura. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-18-26 9:05AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Re-Referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Referred to GVO, JDC. (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/SB2143_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1125_.PDF)
- SB2143_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_CD1_.HTM)
- SB2143_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_HD1_.HTM)
- SB2143_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_SD1_.HTM)

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

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1125_.PDF)
- [SB2143_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB2143_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB2143_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2143_SD1_.HTM)

## 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 2031: RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2031-2026)
- [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-SB2143-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).