# Hawaii SB 3253: RELATING TO CONSERVATION.

Hawaii SB 3253, RELATING TO CONSERVATION., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) Senate bill sponsored by Chris Lee (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-07-10 (Act 226, 07/10/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1328).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB3253-2026
- 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 3253
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO CONSERVATION.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-28
- Last action: 2026-07-10, Act 226, 07/10/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1328).
- Sponsor: Chris Lee (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Subjects: DLNR, Hawaii Conservation Sanctuary, Endangered Species, Wildlife, Conservation, WAL, EEP, FIN
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 13 (233 yes, 22 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Establishes the Hawaii Conservation Sanctuary as a nonprofit entity to protect and expand populations of endangered species and other native wildlife in the State. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Chris Lee (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: C.
- Cosponsor: Stanley Chang (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Herbert M. "Tim" Richards III (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-05-06 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 22 | 3 |   |
| 2026-05-06 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 43 | 7 |   |
| 2026-05-01 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2026-05-01 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-14 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 44 | 6 |   |
| 2026-04-07 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-24 | House | The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-20 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on EEP... | pass | 45 | 4 |   |
| 2026-03-19 | House | The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 8 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 24 | 1 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 12 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |

## Actions (55)

- 2026-07-10: Act 226, 07/10/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1328). (Senate)
- 2026-07-10: Act 226, on 07/10/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1328). (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: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none). (Senate)
- 2026-05-06: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (7) and Representative(s) Alcos excused (1). (House)
- 2026-05-06: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 11:35 AM; Conference Room 229. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 12:45PM in Conference Room 229. (House)
- 2026-05-01: 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) Lee, C., Gabbard, Richards; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Lowen, Morikawa; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Shimizu; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-05-01: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 218-26). (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26. (Senate)
- 2026-05-01: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 218-26) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26. (House)
- 2026-04-30: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 9:00AM; Conference Room 229. (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 873). (Senate)
- 2026-04-28: House Conferees Appointed: Hashem, Lowen, Morikawa Co-Chairs; Shimizu. (House)
- 2026-04-28: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-30-26 9:01AM; Conference Room 229. (Senate)
- 2026-04-24: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 742). (House)
- 2026-04-23: Senate Conferees Appointed: Lee, C. Chairs; Gabbard, Richards Co-Chairs. (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 769). (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) Cochran voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Shimizu voting no (6) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-04-10: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2147-26), recommending passage on Third Reading. (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)
- 2026-03-30: Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1436-26), recommending referral to FIN. (House)
- 2026-03-30: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Gedeon voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (4) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4). (House)
- 2026-03-24: The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Chun, Kusch, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Kahaloa, Quinlan. (House)
- 2026-03-20: Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1303-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to EEP. (House)
- 2026-03-20: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on EEP with Representative(s) Cochran, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Muraoka, Pierick voting no (4) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). (House)
- 2026-03-20: Bill scheduled to be heard by EEP on Tuesday, 03-24-26 10:00AM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-19: The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Ichiyama, Poepoe, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti. (House)
- 2026-03-16: Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Thursday, 03-19-26 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-03-12: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to WAL, EEP, FIN, referral sheet 17 (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. 393) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2951) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-10-26. (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: The committee(s) on WAM deferred the measure until 03-03-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-25-26 10:56AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Reported from WLA/AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2625) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (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)
- 2026-02-11: The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Chang, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Inouye. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: The committee(s) on WLA/AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-26 1:00PM; CR 224 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Referred to WLA/AEN, WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Introduced. (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Passed First Reading. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1328_.PDF)
- SB3253_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_CD1_.HTM)
- SB3253_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_HD1_.HTM)
- SB3253_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_SD1_.HTM)
- SB3253_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_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 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1328_.PDF)
- [SB3253_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB3253_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB3253_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_SD1_.HTM)
- [SB3253_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/SB3253_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 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2964-2026)
- [Hawaii bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii/bills)
- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB3253-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).