# Hawaii SB 3097: RELATING TO THE EXEMPTION FROM CIVIL SERVICE OF EXECUTIVE PERSONNEL OF THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Hawaii SB 3097, RELATING TO THE EXEMPTION FROM CIVIL SERVICE OF EXECUTIVE PERSONNEL OF THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Ronald D. Kouchi (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-25 (Act 149, 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB3097-2026
- 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 3097
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO THE EXEMPTION FROM CIVIL SERVICE OF EXECUTIVE PERSONNEL OF THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-26
- Last action: 2026-06-25, Act 149, 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250).
- Sponsor: Ronald D. Kouchi (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: ERS, Executive Personnel, Civil Service Exemption, LAB, FIN
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 11 (241 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Allows the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System, through its Executive Director, to appoint specified executive personnel positions of the Employees' Retirement System and exempts these positions from the State's civil service requirements. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Retirement System Can Appoint Three Executives: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Employees’ Retirement System board, acting through its executive director, can appoint a deputy executive director, chief compliance officer, and information security officer. The executive director directs their work; the board sets their duties, qualifications, and sal…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Ronald D. Kouchi (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-30 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 51 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-30 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-24 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 2 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-24 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 2 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-14 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 51 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-07 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-20 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-17 | House | The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 24 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 13 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |

## Actions (52)

- 2026-06-25: Act 149, 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250). (Senate)
- 2026-06-25: Act 149, on 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 882). (Senate)
- 2026-04-30: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-04-30: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). (Senate)
- 2026-04-30: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 803). (House)
- 2026-04-30: Enrolled to Governor. (Senate)
- 2026-04-28: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 8-26). (Senate)
- 2026-04-28: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-26. (Senate)
- 2026-04-28: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 8-26) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2026-04-28: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Thursday, 04-30-26. (House)
- 2026-04-24: The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Richards; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2026-04-24: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 2 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M.; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Reyes Oda. (House)
- 2026-04-23: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 811). (Senate)
- 2026-04-23: Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 04-24-26 8:45AM in conference room 016. (House)
- 2026-04-22: House Conferees Appointed: Sayama, Lee, M. Co-Chairs; Reyes Oda. (House)
- 2026-04-21: Senate Conferees Appointed: Elefante Chair; Richards Co-Chair; Fevella. (Senate)
- 2026-04-21: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 718). (House)
- 2026-04-16: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 744). (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 none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-04-10: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2055-26), 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)
- 2026-03-20: Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1256-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House)
- 2026-03-20: 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) Quinlan excused (1). (House)
- 2026-03-17: The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Kong; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Reyes Oda. (House)
- 2026-03-12: Bill scheduled to be heard by LAB on Tuesday, 03-17-26 9:30AM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-10: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2026-03-10: Referred to LAB, FIN, referral sheet 16 (House)
- 2026-03-06: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Ihara). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 109) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2026-03-05: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2778) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: One Day Notice 03-06-26. (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: The committee(s) on WAM deferred the measure until 03-02-26 10:01AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-25-26 10:55AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2320) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in LBT were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Lamosao, Moriwaki, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara. (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Public notice requirement waived pursuant to Senate Rule 21. (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: The committee(s) on LBT has rescheduled its public hearing to 02-11-26 3:01PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-08: The committee(s) on LBT deleted the measure from the public hearing scheduled on 02-09-26 3:01PM; CR 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: The committee(s) on LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 02-09-26 3:01PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-01-30: Referred to LBT, WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Introduced. (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Pending Introduction. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1250_.PDF)
- SB3097_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_CD1_.HTM)
- SB3097_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_HD1_.HTM)
- SB3097_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_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 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1250_.PDF)
- [SB3097_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB3097_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB3097_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3097_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 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2964-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB3097-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).