# Hawaii SB 2721: RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. Hawaii SB 2721, RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Karl Rhoads (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-25 (Act 151, 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1252).); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2721-2026 - 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 2721 - State: Hawaii - Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) - Title: RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-23 - Last action: 2026-06-25, Act 151, 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1252). - Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 2 - Subjects: Hawaii Penal Code, Advisory Committee Recommendations, Implementation, JHA, FIN - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 10 (206 yes, 29 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 10 ## Summary Implements recommendations from the 2025 Advisory Committee on Penal Code Review, established pursuant to Act 245, SLH 2024, to amend the Hawaii Penal Code. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1) ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Lower escape charge in limited cases: benefit, medium. Escape in the second degree is a petty misdemeanor, rather than a class C felony, for a person held in health department custody solely for a nonviolent petty misdemeanor. The lower charge does not apply if the person is arrested for a new felony during the escape or while it is pending. - Fewer felony labels, shorter deadlines: benefit, low. A felony label in a later law does not make an offense a felony by itself. The offense must meet the Hawaii Penal Code’s rules or carry a possible sentence of more than one year. Prosecution for a petty misdemeanor or violation, including a parking violation, must begin within one year. - Broader liability for helping crimes: cost, medium. People who intentionally help someone commit a crime can face an attempt charge, even if the other person never commits or tries to commit it. A person can also be guilty of conspiring with a co-conspirator’s other partners in the same crime without knowing their names, if the person knows those ot… - Noise rules for renters and homeowners: cost, low. People responsible for a home or other premises can face a violation if they allow another person to make unreasonable noise there. This includes noise that grossly departs from expected conduct or continues after a police officer tells the person to stop or lower it. - Daily bail posting and state-paid monitoring: mixed, medium. By July 1, 2027, the state must offer a way to post monetary bail seven days a week for covered defendants in corrections custody. A defendant must be released once bail is posted, but a vendor may charge a service fee. Beginning September 1, 2026, the corrections department pays for required elect… - New probation terms and review rules: mixed, medium. Probation terms depend on the offense: covered felony terms include three, four, or five years, and class A felonies have a 10-year term. A judge can set a shorter term with a reason on the record. Before ending probation early, the judge must receive a probation officer’s report and give the prose… - Drug possession charges and treatment: mixed, medium. Knowingly possessing any amount of a dangerous drug is a misdemeanor, and courts must require an assessment in listed sentencing, deferral, or discharge proceedings. Courts may order the recommended treatment. First-degree possession includes 3 to 24 dosage units, or the stated weight ranges: 0.5 t… - Fewer duties to help police or firefighters: mixed, low. People no longer face a petty-misdemeanor charge for refusing to help police make an arrest or prevent an offense. Refusing to help put out a fire or protect property is also removed from the fire-scene offense. People can still face a petty-misdemeanor charge for knowingly disobeying certain safet… - How courts prove Penal Code facts: mixed, low. When a fact affects how the Penal Code applies, it usually must be more likely true than not. The prosecution or defense carries the burden, depending on whose position the fact supports. This rule can help either side in a case. - New rules for fitness examinations: mixed, low. Courts can use telehealth for fitness examinations when the examiner requests it. Agencies must provide relevant records within 14 days of a court order, and an order can allow access without signed consent. Nonviolent misdemeanor commitments or conditional releases are limited to 120 days. The law… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Stanley Chang (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Lorraine R. Inouye (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-05-06 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 43 | 8 | | | 2026-05-06 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 22 | 3 | | | 2026-04-28 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 1 | | | 2026-04-28 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 | | | 2026-04-14 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 41 | 9 | | | 2026-04-07 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 15 | 0 | | | 2026-03-25 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 45 | 3 | | | 2026-03-17 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 9 | 1 | | | 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 22 | 3 | | | 2026-02-18 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 1 | | ## Actions (50) - 2026-06-25: Act 151, 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1252). (Senate) - 2026-06-25: Act 151, on 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1252). (House) - 2026-05-08: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888). (Senate) - 2026-05-08: Enrolled to Governor. (Senate) - 2026-05-06: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Lamosao. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none). (Senate) - 2026-05-06: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Kila, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick voting no (8) and none excused (0). (House) - 2026-05-06: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816). (House) - 2026-04-29: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 48-26). (Senate) - 2026-04-29: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26. (Senate) - 2026-04-29: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 48-26) as amended in (CD 1). (House) - 2026-04-29: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26. (House) - 2026-04-28: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Kusch, Poepoe; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and 0 Excused: none. (House) - 2026-04-28: 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, Gabbard; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate) - 2026-04-27: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 2:00PM in conference room 325. (House) - 2026-04-24: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Monday 04-27-26 2:00PM in conference room 325. (House) - 2026-04-23: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-26 3:10PM; Conference Room 325. (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-23-26 2:35PM; Conference Room 325. (Senate) - 2026-04-21: Senate Conferees Appointed: Rhoads Chair; Chang, Gabbard. (Senate) - 2026-04-21: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 718). (House) - 2026-04-20: House Conferees Appointed: Tarnas, Kusch Co-Chairs; Poepoe, Garcia. (House) - 2026-04-20: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 787). (Senate) - 2026-04-16: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 694). (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) Kila, Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Matayoshi, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (9) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House) - 2026-04-10: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2076-26), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House) - 2026-04-10: Deferred one day 04-14-26. (House) - 2026-04-07: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos, Gedeon; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa. (House) - 2026-04-02: The committee(s) on FIN recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 04-07-26. (House) - 2026-04-02: Bill scheduled for decision making on Tuesday, 04-07-26 10:10AM in conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House) - 2026-03-31: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 04-02-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House) - 2026-03-25: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1409-26) 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) Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Cochran, Garcia, Pierick voting no (3) and Representative(s) Matsumoto, Perruso excused (2). (House) - 2026-03-17: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Cochran, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Shimizu; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and Excused: none. (House) - 2026-03-12: Pass First Reading (House) - 2026-03-12: Referred to JHA, FIN, 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, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 287) in amended form (SD 1). (House) - 2026-03-05: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2812) 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 3/10/2026. (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) - 2026-02-03: Re-Referred to JDC. (Senate) - 2026-02-02: The committee on PSM deferred the measure. (Senate) - 2026-01-30: The committee(s) on PSM has scheduled a public hearing on 02-02-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate) - 2026-01-28: Referred to PSM, JDC/WAM. (Senate) - 2026-01-26: Passed First Reading. (Senate) - 2026-01-23: Introduced. (Senate) ## Bill text - Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_CD1_.pdf) - Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1252_.PDF) - SB2721_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_CD1_.HTM) - SB2721_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_HD1_.HTM) - SB2721_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_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/SB2721_CD1_.pdf) - [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_.HTM) - [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1252_.PDF) - [SB2721_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_CD1_.HTM) - [SB2721_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_HD1_.HTM) - [SB2721_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB2721_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-SB2721-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).