# Hawaii SB 344: RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY.

Hawaii SB 344, RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) Senate bill sponsored by Karl Rhoads (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-05-29 (Act 130, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1230).) (as of 2026-10-27).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB344-2025
- As of: 2026-10-27
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii SB 344
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1)
- Title: RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-01-14
- Last action: 2025-05-29, Act 130, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1230).
- Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Skateboards, Helmet Requirement, Minors, TRN, JHA
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 11 (215 yes, 15 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Requires all skateboard users under the age of eighteen to wear a helmet while operating a skateboard on public property. (CD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Karl Rhoads (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-30 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 48 | 2 |   |
| 2025-04-30 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 22 | 3 |   |
| 2025-04-23 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-23 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-04 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 47 | 3 |   |
| 2025-03-28 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 9 | 1 |   |
| 2025-03-18 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 47 | 2 |   |
| 2025-03-13 | House | The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 6 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 22 | 3 |   |
| 2025-02-19 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2025-01-30 | Senate | The committee(s) on TCA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (46)

- 2025-05-29: Act 130, 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1230). (Senate)
- 2025-05-29: Act 130, on 05/29/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1230). (House)
- 2025-05-02: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 821). (Senate)
- 2025-05-02: Enrolled to Governor. (Senate)
- 2025-05-01: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 888). (House)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Keohokalole). Excused, 0 (none). (Senate)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Amato voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting no (2) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). (House)
- 2025-04-24: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 100). (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 100) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2025-04-24: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 04-30-25. (House)
- 2025-04-23: 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., Rhoads, Elefante; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-23: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Poepoe, Grandinetti; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Takenouchi, Muraoka. (House)
- 2025-04-22: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-23-25 10:30AM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-22-25 10:35AM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-15: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 731). (Senate)
- 2025-04-15: Senate Conferees Appointed: Lee, C. Chairs; Rhoads Co-Chair; Elefante, Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-15: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 789). (House)
- 2025-04-14: House Conferees Appointed: Kila, Poepoe Co-Chairs; Grandinetti, Takenouchi, Muraoka. (House)
- 2025-04-08: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 576). (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 774). (House)
- 2025-04-04: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Pierick voting no (3) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-04-02: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1770) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-04-02: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 04-04-25. (House)
- 2025-03-28: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Perruso, Takayama, Todd, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran. (House)
- 2025-03-25: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Friday, 03-28-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-18: Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1317) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2025-03-18: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with Representative(s) Amato voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting no (2) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2). (House)
- 2025-03-13: The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Grandinetti, Evslin, Kitagawa, Miyake, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, La Chica, Pierick. (House)
- 2025-03-11: Bill scheduled to be heard by TRN on Thursday, 03-13-25 9:00AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-06: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2025-03-06: Referred to TRN, JHA, referral sheet 19 (House)
- 2025-03-04: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, McKelvey). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 139) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2025-02-28: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1026) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: One Day Notice 03-04-25. (Senate)
- 2025-02-19: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard. (Senate)
- 2025-02-14: The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 02-19-25 9:45AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-02-10: Reported from TCA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 128) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-02-10: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-01-30: The committee(s) on TCA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TCA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Elefante, Kanuha, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-01-27: The committee(s) on TCA has scheduled a public hearing on 01-30-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-01-21: Referred to TCA, JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-01-15: Introduced and passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-01-14: Pending Introduction. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1230_.PDF)
- SB344_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_CD1_.HTM)
- SB344_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_HD1_.HTM)
- SB344_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_HD2_.HTM)
- SB344_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_SD1_.HTM)

## Related bills

- HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION. (signed)
- SB 1044: RELATING TO THE STABILIZATION OF PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)
- SB 1231: RELATING TO PARENTAGE. (signed)
- SB 935: RELATING TO GOVERNMENT. (signed)
- HB 703: RELATING TO KUPUNA HOUSING. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1230_.PDF)
- [SB344_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB344_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB344_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_HD2_.HTM)
- [SB344_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB344_SD1_.HTM)

## Related
- [HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB431-2025)
- [HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1064-2025)
- [SB 1044: RELATING TO THE STABILIZATION OF PROPERTY INSURANCE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1044-2025)
- [SB 1231: RELATING TO PARENTAGE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1231-2025)
- [SB 935: RELATING TO GOVERNMENT.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB935-2025)
- [HB 703: RELATING TO KUPUNA HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB703-2025)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB344-2025 (as of 2026-10-27).