# Hawaii SB 479: RELATING TO THE HAWAII ABLE SAVINGS PROGRAM.

Hawaii SB 479, RELATING TO THE HAWAII ABLE SAVINGS PROGRAM., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) Senate bill sponsored by SAN BUENAVENTURA; status signed, last action 2025-06-03 (Act 150, 06/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250).) (as of 2026-10-27).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB479-2025
- 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 479
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1)
- Title: RELATING TO THE HAWAII ABLE SAVINGS PROGRAM.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-01-17
- Last action: 2025-06-03, Act 150, 06/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250).
- Sponsor: SAN BUENAVENTURA
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: B&F, DOH, SCDD, Hawaii ABLE Savings Program, Incentive Payments, Positions, Appropriations, HLT, FIN
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 10 (216 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Repeals language that gives the Director of Finance discretion to use moneys in the Hawaii ABLE Savings Program Trust Fund if the Director elects to accept deposits from contributors instead of sending deposits directly to the ABLE Program Manager. Authorizes the Director of Finance to expend moneys in the Hawaii ABLE Savings Program Trust Fund to provide incentive payments to ABLE account owners. Establishes a position within the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Appropriates funds. (CD1)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New savings incentives for Hawaii ABLE owners: benefit, low. Starting July 1, 2025, the Hawaii ABLE trust fund holds program money, including grants, state funds, manager payments, interest, and contributor deposits not sent directly to the manager. The fund can pay incentives to ABLE account owners, and the finance director must keep separate records of tho…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: SAN BUENAVENTURA

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-30 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-25 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-25 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-08 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-28 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-21 | House | Passed Second Reading and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting a... | pass | 46 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-19 | House | The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 9 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-27 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 13 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-12 | Senate | The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (48)

- 2025-06-03: Act 150, 06/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250). (Senate)
- 2025-06-03: Act 150, on 06/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1250). (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, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick excused (2). (House)
- 2025-04-25: 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) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Hashimoto. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 136). (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-25: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 136) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2025-04-25: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 04-30-25. (House)
- 2025-04-24: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-25 3:30PM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-23: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-25 3:30PM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-23-25 3:30PM; Conference Room 329. (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 754). (Senate)
- 2025-04-17: House Conferees Appointed: Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy Co-Chairs; Garcia. (House)
- 2025-04-15: Senate Conferees Appointed: San Buenaventura Chair; Aquino Co-Chair; Hashimoto, Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-15: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 789). (House)
- 2025-04-10: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 649). (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 779). (House)
- 2025-04-08: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Marten excused (2). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-04-04: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2002) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-04-04: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 04-08-25. (House)
- 2025-03-28: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Alcos, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hussey, Ward. (House)
- 2025-03-25: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 03-28-25 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-21: Reported from HLT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1415), recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House)
- 2025-03-21: Passed Second Reading and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Garrett, Kapela, Kitagawa, Ward excused (5). (House)
- 2025-03-19: The committee on HLT recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Takayama, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Amato, Chun, Marten, Olds, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2025-03-14: Bill scheduled to be heard by HLT on Wednesday, 03-19-25 9:05AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-06: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2025-03-06: Referred to HLT, FIN, referral sheet 19 (House)
- 2025-03-04: Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 163) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2025-02-28: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 982) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-02-28: One Day Notice 03-04-25. (Senate)
- 2025-02-27: 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, Aquino, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-02-21: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-27-25 10:30AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-02-14: Reported from HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 566) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-02-14: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-02-12: The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Hashimoto, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-02-10: The committee(s) on HHS deferred the measure until 02-12-25 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-02-04: The committee(s) on HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 02-10-25 1:20PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-01-21: Referred to HHS, WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-01-17: Introduced. (Senate)
- 2025-01-17: Passed First Reading. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1250_.PDF)
- SB479_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_CD1_.HTM)
- SB479_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_HD1_.HTM)
- SB479_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_SD1_.HTM)

## Related bills

- SB 572: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 420: RELATING TO REMEDIES. (signed)
- SB 1296: RELATING TO DISASTER RECOVERY. (signed)
- HB 830: RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEWS. (signed)
- HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1250_.PDF)
- [SB479_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB479_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB479_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB479_SD1_.HTM)

## Related
- [SB 572: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB572-2025)
- [HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB431-2025)
- [HB 420: RELATING TO REMEDIES.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB420-2025)
- [SB 1296: RELATING TO DISASTER RECOVERY.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1296-2025)
- [HB 830: RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEWS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB830-2025)
- [HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1064-2025)
- [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-SB479-2025 (as of 2026-10-27).