# Hawaii SB 2372: RELATING TO TREES.

Hawaii SB 2372, RELATING TO TREES., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Mike Gabbard (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-04-27 (Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 762).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2372-2026
- 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 2372
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO TREES.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-16
- Last action: 2026-04-27, Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 762).
- Sponsor: Mike Gabbard (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Subjects: DLNR, Exceptional Trees Program, Significant Trees, State Arborist Advisory Committee, County Arborist Advisory Committees, WAL, JHA
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 8 (148 yes, 7 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Establishes base selection criteria for designating exceptional trees. Establishes the significant tree designation, selection criteria, and related processes. Establishes the State Arborist Advisory Committee within the Department of Land and Natural Resources for administrative purposes. Requires County Arborist Advisory Committees to have at least five members, adopt new exceptional tree selection criteria, and designate significant trees. Directs the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the University of Hawaii to cooperate with State and County Arborist Advisory Committees to carry out the Exceptional Trees Program. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Mike Gabbard (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Stanley Chang (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Kurt Fevella (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Carol Fukunaga (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Angus L.K. McKelvey (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Herbert M. "Tim" Richards III (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-14 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 2 |   |
| 2026-03-25 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 5 | 2 |   |
| 2026-03-19 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 49 | 1 |   |
| 2026-03-17 | House | The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 24 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (31)

- 2026-04-27: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 762). (House)
- 2026-04-24: Senate Conferees Appointed: Gabbard Chair; Lee, C., Rhoads Co-Chairs; Richards. (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 650). (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 as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia voting no (2) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-04-10: Deferred one day 04-14-26. (House)
- 2026-04-08: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1832-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-04-08: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 04-10-26. (House)
- 2026-03-25: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama, Cochran. (House)
- 2026-03-23: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 03-25-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-19: Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1238-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2026-03-19: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with Representative(s) Pierick voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia voting no (1) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-03-17: The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Woodson. (House)
- 2026-03-12: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 17 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Tuesday, 03-17-26 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-10: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). 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. 219) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3011) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-10-26. (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 02-27-26 10:30AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Reported from AEN/WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2644) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Chang, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Richards, DeCoite, Rhoads, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: The committee(s) on AEN/WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-26 3:00PM; CR 224 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Referred to AEN/WLA, JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Introduced and passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-01-16: Pending Introduction. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_HD2_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_.PDF)
- SB2372_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_HD1_.HTM)
- SB2372_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_HD2_.HTM)
- SB2372_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_SD1_.HTM)
- SB2372_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_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/SB2372_HD2_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_.PDF)
- [SB2372_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB2372_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_HD2_.HTM)
- [SB2372_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_SD1_.HTM)
- [SB2372_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2372_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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- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2372-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).