# Hawaii SB 2315: PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII, SECTION 3 OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO SPECIFY THAT THE STANDARD FOR VOTER APPROVAL OF A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED BY THE LEGISLATURE IS A MAJORITY OF ALL THE VOTES TALLIED UPON THE QUESTION.

Hawaii SB 2315, PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII, SECTION 3 OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO SPECIFY THAT THE STANDARD FOR VOTER APPROVAL OF A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED BY THE LEGISLATURE IS A MAJORITY OF ALL THE VOTES TALLIED UPON THE QUESTION., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Karl Rhoads (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-03-25 (Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1418-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2315-2026
- 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 2315
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII, SECTION 3 OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO SPECIFY THAT THE STANDARD FOR VOTER APPROVAL OF A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED BY THE LEGISLATURE IS A MAJORITY OF ALL THE VOTES TALLIED UPON THE QUESTION.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-15
- Last action: 2026-03-25, Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1418-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
- Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Subjects: Constitutional Amendment, General Elections, Amendment Process, Tallying, Votes, JHA, FIN
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 5 (84 yes, 12 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Proposes to amend article XVII, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution regarding the standard for ratification of a constitutional amendment proposed by the Legislature, to provide that proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Stanley Chang (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Michelle N. Kidani (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Joy A. San Buenaventura (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-25 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 43 | 5 |   |
| 2026-03-19 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 6 | 2 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 21 | 3 |   |
| 2026-02-19 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 11 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 2 |   |

## Actions (20)

- 2026-03-25: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1418-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House)
- 2026-03-25: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Muraoka, Reyes Oda, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (5) and Representative(s) Matsumoto, Perruso excused (2). (House)
- 2026-03-19: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Hashem, Kahaloa, Takayama, Cochran; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Sayama. (House)
- 2026-03-17: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 03-19-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-10: Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 15 (House)
- 2026-03-06: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2026-03-05: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 21; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Richards, San Buenaventura. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, McKelvey). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Ihara). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Notice of bill proposing constitutional amendment transmitted to Governor pursuant to Article XVII, Section 3 (Sen. Com. No. 1). (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 23) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2026-02-24: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2711) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-05-26. (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: 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, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Richards. (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-19-26 10:30AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2152) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: 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 ; 2 No(es): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Awa; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-01-30: The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-03-26 9:00AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Referred to JDC, WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Introduced and passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-01-15: Pending Introduction. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_HD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_.PDF)
- SB2315_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_HD1_.HTM)
- SB2315_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_SD1_.HTM)
- SB2315_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_SD2_.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/SB2315_HD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_.PDF)
- [SB2315_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB2315_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_SD1_.HTM)
- [SB2315_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2315_SD2_.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2315-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).