Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.

Prohibits any person from advertising, displaying, or offering a price for the rental or letting of a transient accommodation or resort time share vacation unit that does not include all taxes and fees imposed by a government entity that the renter or guest must pay. Requires a person to clearly and conspicuously display a rate or price that includes all taxes and fees imposed by a government entity that the renter or guest must pay in each advertisement for the rental or letting of a transient accommodation or resort time share vacation unit. Requires any taxes and fees that are displayed as a percentage of the cost on a booking transaction to also be displayed as a dollar amount at the time of purchase.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.

Prohibits any person from charging any fees on a transient accommodation or resort time share vacation interest, plan, or unit that were not disclosed before the time of purchase. Requires a person to clearly and conspicuously display a rate or price that includes all fees to be charged at the time of purchase in each advertisement for a transient accommodation or resort time share vacation interest, plan, or unit. Requires any taxes and fees that are displayed as a percentage of the cost on a booking transaction also be displayed as a dollar amount at the time of purchase.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO CAPITAL GAINS.

Taxes capital gains income at the same rate as ordinary income.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO LANDLORD-TENANT LAW.

Authorizes a tenant to change the date on which the tenant's rent is due by making a one-time payment to cover the period between the original due date and the newly established due date. Clarifies that a landlord may only assess a late fee on any unpaid rent and not the entire monthly rent. Reduces the maximum amount of a late charge for unpaid rent from 8% of the unpaid amount to 5% of the unpaid amount. Specifies that if rent is increased, the landlord may also proportionately increase the amount due as a security deposit; provided that a continuing or renewing tenant shall have at least 30 days to pay the additional amount due. Makes conforming amendments.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO THE UNIFORM ANTITRUST PRE-MERGER NOTIFICATION ACT.

Establishes the Uniform Antitrust Pre-Merger Notification Act.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO THE USE OF INTOXICANTS WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE.

Lowers the blood alcohol concentration threshold for driving while under the influence of alcohol from 0.08 to 0.05.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO REIMBURSEMENT OF PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

Requires the State or a county to reimburse an officer or employee within thirty calendar days of a request for reimbursement for travel costs that the officer or employee loaned to the State or a county. Requires the State or a county to pay a percentage of interest on the total amount owed to an officer or employee until the loan is fully reimbursed.

Henry J.C. AquinoDemocrat

RELATING TO HAZARD PAY.

Allows the Director of Human Resources Development and the Director's county counterparts, with the approval of the Civil Service Commission in the case of the county, to grant temporary hazard pay to public employees.

Henry J.C. AquinoDemocrat

RELATING TO NEEDS ALLOWANCE.

Clarifies that the monthly needs allowance afforded to individuals living in certain long-term care facilities is not intended to replace or affect funds received as a state supplemental payment for domiciliary care and shall be supplemental to any funds provided to a recipient as a state supplemental payment for domiciliary care.

Henry J.C. AquinoDemocrat

RELATING TO CANDIDATES.

Requires objections made by an officer of a political party to candidate nomination papers to be filed with and determined by the Office of Elections.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO TOURISM.

Appropriates funds to sponsor a Michelin Guide for restaurants statewide.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT.

Increases the size of a deposit glass beverage container from sixty-eight to one hundred twenty-eight fluid ounces. Adds building materials as a purpose under the glass recovery program. Adds wine, spirits, and milk and other dairy-derived products to the definition of "deposit beverage". Increases the size of a deposit beverage container from sixty-eight to one hundred twenty-eight fluid ounces. Takes effect 1/1/2027.

Brenton AwaRepublican

RELATING TO CREATING A LOCAL HOUSING MARKET.

Establishing a Local Housing Market that is tied to Hawaii State resident's incomes and not the global economy. Thus providing housing options that are affordable relative to wages for residents of the State.

Brenton AwaRepublican

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Eliminates state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel for motor vehicles.

Brenton AwaRepublican

RELATING TO FAMILY SAFETY.

Establishes comprehensive reforms to protect children and families from abuse and improve systemic responses. Part I: Establishes the calendar year 2027 as the Year of Resilience, Safety, and Survivor Justice. Part II: Modernizes statutory definitions of harm and child abuse. Part III: Recognizes coercive control as domestic abuse. Part IV: Reforms Family Court procedures to prioritize child safety and prohibit parental alienation theories. Part V: Defines economic abuse and strengthens financial protections, including automatic restraining orders, emergency hearings, forensic accounting authority, and liability for financial institutions. Part VI: Safeguards neurodivergent children and prohibits diagnosis shopping. Part VII: Protects reproductive privacy in custody proceedings. Part VIII: Enhances Child Welfare Services Branch accountability through audits and creation of a Child Welfare Ombudsman. Part IX: Requires automatic protective orders and custody restrictions in cases of severe violence. Part X: Creates a Family Violence Docket with mandatory judicial training and an advisory panel.

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO PERFORMING ARTS.

Establishes a performing arts ticket surcharge on the sale of certain performing arts tickets for an event held in the State.

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO HEALTH.

Requires the Department of Health to conduct a study on addictive online activities engaged in by residents of the State and submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026. Appropriates funds.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO STATE LIBRARIES.

Clarifies the roles and responsibilities for capital improvement projects at the 12 dual-use public and school libraries statewide. Clarifies that, after the Board of Education authorizes the State Librarian to make capital improvements to a public and school library facility, and the Legislature appropriates funding for the project, the Department of Education shall work expeditiously with the State Librarian to ensure timely use of the appropriated moneys.

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC TESTIMONY.

Prohibits state and county boards from considering written testimony submitted by an individual member of the public unless the written testimony includes certain information necessary for the board to verify the authenticity of the testimony and communicate with the testifier. Prohibits boards from disclosing any personal information obtained through written public testimony, except the name of the testifier, unless authorized by the testifier. Requires each house of the Legislature to adopt or amend rules to apply the written public testimony verification process to certain hearings conducted by its standing committees. Effective 1/1/2028.

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO AQUACULTURE.

Requires establishment of a biological aquatic risk-based framework for assessment and approval of aquatic livestock importation and movement. Authorizes the Division of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to adopt rules implementing species risk categorization, tiered biocontainment standards, per-arrival disease testing, and interagency coordination procedures. Establishes an interagency working group. Requires development of species-specific risk matrices, interagency working group coordination with automatic permit approval timelines, and performance accountability. Establishes an implementation timeline. Appropriates moneys.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO HEMP.

Establishes an affirmative defense for a manufactured hemp product retailer that reasonably relies on a third-party age‑verification service to comply with existing age-based sale restrictions for manufactured hemp products.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO RESILIENCY.

Part II: For taxable years beginning after 12/31/2025, establishes an Agroecological and Climate-Smart Farming Practices Tax Credit to be administered by the Department of Taxation. Part III: Establishes the Hawaii Farm to Families Program and requires the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to submit reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Part IV: Requires the Department of Education to strengthen the State's farm to school meals program initiatives.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SEVENTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT.

Appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the 7th senatorial district.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIVE HAWAIIAN FILM AND MEDIA INDUSTRY.

Establishes and appropriates moneys for a Native Hawaiian film and media development program within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Establishes a full-cycle production tax credit for taxable years beginning after 12/31/2025. Provides the Department of Taxation with certain duties and responsibilities in administering the tax credit.

Kurt FevellaRepublican

RELATING TO MAUNA KEA.

Extends for 10 years the master lease of Mauna Kea lands that is set to expire on December 31, 2033. Requires that subleases of Mauna Kea lands to astronomical observatories be extended for 10 years.

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SIXTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT.

Appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the 6th senatorial district.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO THE CONTRACTOR REPAIR ACT.

Expands the required contents of a notice of claim of construction defect served on a contractor. Requires the claimant to provide actual evidence of the nature and cause of the construction defect and extent of necessary repairs along with the notice of claim to the extent the claimant has evidence. Amends the process and time frame for a claimant to accept a contractor's proposal to inspect and authorize the contractor to proceed with repairs. Limits the amount a claimant can recover if the claimant unreasonably rejects a contractor's proposal to inspect or an offer to remedy.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO CONDOMINIUMS.

Establishes the Ombudsman's Office for Condominium Owners and Associations within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Increases the biennial Condominium Education Trust Fund fee by $2.50 a year to pay for the ongoing costs of the Ombudsman's Office. Appropriates funds from the Condominium Education Trust Fund for establishment of the Ombudsman's Office.

Jr. IharaDemocrat

RELATING TO HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS.

Amends the membership and responsibilities of the Public Land Trust Working Group established under Act 226, SLH 2022. Requires the Working Group to submit four reports to the Legislature: by 8/1/2027, a first interim report regarding Act 178, SLH 2006, financial reporting and accounting; by 12/1/2027, a second interim report regarding the public land trust inventory; by 6/1/2028, a third interim report that includes a preliminary draft of findings and recommendations regarding Act 178 financial reporting and accounting and the public land trust inventory; and by 10/1/2028, a final report that includes proposed legislation. Authorizes the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to provide administrative support to the Working Group in coordination with a third-party consultant.

Jarrett KeohokaloleDemocrat

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE.

Establishes a universal, single payer health care system to be known as "Hawaii Care", to provide comprehensive health care benefits to all state residents and eventually replace all existing health care plans in the State. Designates the Hawaii Health Authority as the responsible agency for the comprehensive planning, implementation, and administration of Hawaii Care. Requires the Hawaii Health Authority to develop and submit a comprehensive implementation and administration plan to the legislature by a certain date. Establishes the Hawaii Care special fund. Requires the Hawaii Health Authority to adopt rules and submit reports to the Legislature. Requires the Governor to appoint members to the Hawaii Health Authority by 12/31/2026. Requires the Department of Human Services to apply for necessary federal waivers. Takes effect 180 days after the approval of the Hawaii Medicaid State Plan and necessary federal waivers. Appropriates funds.

Jarrett KeohokaloleDemocrat

RELATING TO MEDICAID.

Prohibits a financial risk-bearing entity from administering Medicaid services. Requires the Department of Human Services to contract with one or more administrative services organizations to perform non-risk administrative functions for the operation of the State's Medicaid program. Requires the Department to establish a Medicaid Care Coordination Program to contract with community-based programs to provide care coordination services. Requires physicians, other independent practitioners, hospitals, and other institutional providers to be paid or reimbursed directly by the State's medicaid agency. Requires the Department to establish regional health hubs in each county to serve as localized oversight bodies. Requires the Department to convene a Medicaid Stakeholder Advisory Group to support continuous improvement throughout the transition period. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriate funds.

Jarrett KeohokaloleDemocrat

RELATING TO MEDICAID.

Requires the State Auditor to conduct audits of Medicaid health care insurance contractors and the Department of Human Services and its Med-QUEST division at least once every two years, with the first audits to be conducted by 1/1/2027, and the reports to be submitted no later than twenty days prior to the Regular Session of 2027. Requires the Auditor to conduct audits. Appropriates funds.

Jarrett KeohokaloleDemocrat

RELATING TO SPORTS WAGERING.

Allows for the regulation of sports wagering by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Establishes licensing requirements for sports wagering operators and sports wagering suppliers. Establishes a general excise tax to be levied on sports wagering operator licenses. Establishes the Problem Gambling Prevention and Treatment Special Fund to be administered and expended by the Department of Health. Specifies that legal sports wagering and fantasy sports contests shall not be considered contests of chance or gambling. Authorizes the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to perform criminal history record checks on applicants and licensees relating to sports wagering.

Dru Mamo KanuhaDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM.

Renames the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to the Department of Housing, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE WAIKIKI WAR MEMORIAL COMPLEX.

Authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds for capital improvement projects to rehabilitate the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium and develop a Waikiki war memorial complex and War memorial center.

Jr. IharaDemocrat

RELATING TO DUE PROCESS FOR ESTABLISHING PERSONAL LIABILITY FOR TAX.

Provides that a determination of personal liability for another person's unpaid general excise taxes is an assessment subject to the due process procedures and appeals available for other assessments.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO THE STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL.

Designates the Statewide Independent Living Council of Hawaii as the State's statewide independent living council to comply with federal requirements.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO PHARMACISTS.

Mandates reimbursement for services provided by participating registered pharmacists practicing within their scope of practice by private and public health plans in the State beginning January 1, 2026.

Joy A. San BuenaventuraDemocrat

RELATING TO LANGUAGE ACCESS.

Appropriates funds for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to increase access to bilingual resources and services for residents with limited English proficiency.

Carol FukunagaDemocrat

RELATING TO PROTECTED COMMUNITY LOCATIONS.

Establishes statewide standards for state and county agencies, officers, and employees, and recipients of state funds, to limit participation in civil immigration enforcement in or near protected community locations that provide state-funded services related to education, physical or mental health, social services such as shelter care or food assistance, or access to justice, including schools, health care facilities, libraries, shelters, and places of worship. Requires the Department of Education, State Public Charter School Commission, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Hawaii State Public Library System, and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to adopt and post written policies, provide annual staff training, and maintain data privacy protections. Appropriates funds for implementation by the Attorney General.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH.

Authorizes a person intoxicated by alcohol, under the influence of drugs, or incapacitated by substances, including a minor, to voluntarily admit themself to a psychiatric facility or a behavioral health crisis center for an emergency evaluation to determine need for treatment.

Joy A. San BuenaventuraDemocrat

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES.

Adds the penalty of vehicle impoundment to violations of reckless driving and for failure to present a valid driver's license, motor vehicle or liability insurance identification card, or certificate of registration.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO NATURAL RESOURCES.

Authorizes geological subsurface characterization activities conducted by a public research institution under certain conditions. Clarifies that boreholes or test holes drilled for the purposes of geological subsurface characterization are distinct from water well exploration and geothermal or mineral exploration. Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, to designate the Hawaii Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center of the University of Hawaii, or a successor entity, as the repository for data collected from any geological subsurface characterization activity. Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to amend its exemption list to specify that certain geological subsurface characterization activities shall be exempt from the environmental review process or shall only require an exemption notice. Requires the University of Hawaii to amend its exemption list to specify that certain geological subsurface characterization activities shall be exempt from the environmental review process or shall only require an exemption notice. Requires the Department of Health to amend its rules related to hazardous waste and hazardous waste management for consistency with federal regulations to specify that certain waste products generated by geological subsurface characterization activity are exempt from hazardous waste management requirements.

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO FOOD HUBS.

Amends Act 313, SLH 2022, to authorize the use of the GroupGAP Food Safety Certification Program established by the United States Department of Agriculture to qualify a recipient for grant funding under the Food Hub Pilot Program. Appropriates funds.

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL PARK LEASES.

Repeals the requirement for land covered by an agricultural park lease with a remaining term of fifteen years or less to be located in a county having a population of less than five hundred thousand in order for the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to extend the lease.

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION OF AGRICULTURE.

Establishes a Local Agriculture Transportation Cost Reimbursement Program within the Department of Transportation to reimburse eligible ranchers and farmers a portion of their costs to transport livestock, livestock products, agricultural commodities, and certain supplies, under certain conditions. Establishes a position to administer the Program. Appropriates funds.

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES.

Authorizes the Superintendent of Education to appoint and set the salaries of certain positions within the Office of Facilities and Operations. Sunsets 6/30/2031.

Troy N. HashimotoDemocrat

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Clarifies that references to the base amount in section 41, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall not apply to the tax credit for research activities, and that the tax credit for qualified research expenses may be claimed without regard to expenses in previous years. Increases the annual cap on the total amount of credits that may be certified by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Dru Mamo KanuhaDemocrat

RELATING TO A REGULAR SESSION REVIEW WORKING GROUP.

Establishes a Regular Session Review Working Group to determine the essential timing and effective framework for a lengthened legislative calendar for election and non-election years. Requires a report to the Legislature. Requires report finalization and drafting assistance from the Legislative Reference Bureau. Appropriates moneys.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO TAX CREDIT FOR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.

Restores the provision that makes references to the Internal Revenue Code's base-amount requirement inapplicable to the Research Activities Tax Credit, allowing all qualified research expenses to be claimed without regard to prior-year expenses. Increases the annual cap for the Research Activities Tax Credit.

Troy N. HashimotoDemocrat