Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO ASSAULT.

Elevates criminal penalties for assaults committed against educational workers and sports officials, while preserving appropriate judicial discretion at sentencing. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Andrew Takuya GarrettDemocrat

RELATING TO CARBON OFFSETS.

Requires the Department of Transportation to assist and enable a person to voluntarily purchase a verified carbon offset for greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the person's air travel to or from an airport in the State. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Sean QuinlanDemocrat

RELATING TO ZONING.

Prohibits the counties from imposing certain lot requirements and dwelling specifications for parcels of land zoned for residential uses located within the urban district for purposes of subdivision, development, or the issuance of a building permit, with certain exemptions. Allows the counties to establish a petition process for neighborhoods, subdivisions, or other geographically contiguous areas to establish or retain certain requirements or specifications. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Luke A. EvslinDemocrat

RELATING TO WATER CARRIERS.

Transfers the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Water Carrier Act from the Public Utilities Commission to the Department of Transportation. Makes conforming amendments. Appropriates funds.

Tyson K. MiyakeDemocrat

RELATING TO THE CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER.

Provides that, in the event of a vacancy in the position of Chief Election Officer, the Attorney General shall serve as the Interim Chief Election Officer until the Elections Commission appoints a new Chief Election Officer.

David A. TarnasDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Permanently exempts specified positions of the Department of the Attorney General and its administratively attached Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission from civil service and for certain positions from collective bargaining. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO CANCER.

Repeals the requirement that a certain amount received from the cigarette tax on the wholesale price of each article or item of certain tobacco products deposited into the Hawaii Cancer Research Special Fund must be used for debt service of capital expenditures and building maintenance. Appropriates funds for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Andrew Takuya GarrettDemocrat

RELATING TO GAMING.

Beginning 8/1/2027, authorizes gaming on cruise ships while a cruise ship is traveling within any state waters or for specified times while docked at a state harbor. Imposes a twenty per cent wagering tax on the adjusted gross receipts derived from gaming on cruise ships. Requires the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to report to the Legislature.

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Creates an alternative water source income tax credit for taxpayers who install, place in service, or repair a water catchment system or who purchase water delivery services. Applicable to taxable years beginning after 12/31/2026. Effective 12/31/2050. (SD1)

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAII EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

Establishes the Administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency as the Deputy Director of Emergency Management within the Department of Defense, under the direction of the Adjutant General. Clarifies the position's reporting structure and duties. Requires the Commission on Salaries, pursuant to section 26-56, HRS, to include the Deputy Director of Emergency Management in its recommendations for executive branch salary levels. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO REMEDIES.

Prohibits actions based on a building code violation unless the violation was a material violation of the building code. Specifies that claimants must comply with the Contractor Repair Act and bars persons from joining a class action for failure to comply with the Contractor Repair Act. Repeals the requirement that inspections and testing be completed within nine months. Deletes duplicative language for when persons may accept a settlement offer. Limits the amount a claimant can recover if the claimant rejects a contractor's reasonable proposal for inspection or a reasonable offer to remedy. (HD1)

Scot Z. MatayoshiDemocrat

REQUESTING THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A WATER FLUORIDATION WORKING GROUP.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Requires applicants for rental housing revolving fund moneys to be either organizations that are required to use all financial surplus, excluding fees, to develop additional housing in the State, or government agencies. Effective 7/1/2050.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

Repeals certain prohibitions on the imposition of fees, conditions, or requirements on community retail pharmacies that are not imposed on mail order pharmacies.

Joy A. San BuenaventuraDemocrat

RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

Implements recommendations from the 2025 Advisory Committee on Penal Code Review, established pursuant to Act 245, SLH 2024, to amend the Hawaii Penal Code. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

David A. TarnasDemocrat

RELATING TO THE COUNTIES.

Authorizes counties to sell property through non-judicial foreclosure as a way to collect unpaid civil fines, subject to certain conditions. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Sean QuinlanDemocrat

RELATING TO LICENSING OF ELECTRONIC LITERARY MATERIAL.

Establishes limits and restrictions on licensing contracts between libraries and publishers for electronic literary materials and provides options for remedy. Suspends enforcement until at least one other state enacts a similar law.

Jenna TakenouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, requires public charter schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide free meals to students whose family income is no more than three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Trish La ChicaDemocrat

RELATING TO LABOR.

Clarifies the employment status of certain delivery drivers under state laws related to workers' compensation, wage and hour, temporary disability insurance, family leave, tax classification of business relationships, and unemployment insurance by establishing conditions under which delivery drivers are deemed employees of the business operating the delivery program. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Sean QuinlanDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION EQUITY.

Requires the Department of Education to permit the participation of eligible homeschooled students in public high school extracurricular activities, subject to certain requirements and limitations.

Mike LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO THEFT.

Creates the offense of organized retail theft. Provides penalties for organized retail theft which are increased based on value of property and leadership roles. Creates an organized retail theft task force. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Joe GedeonRepublican

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

Beginning 1/1/2027, requires each county to implement fare-free access to its public transportation systems. Establishes the Fare-Free Public Transportation Tax and Dividend Special Fund. Increases the Environmental Response, Energy, and Food Security Tax on petroleum products to fund fare-free public transportation. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Kim Coco IwamotoDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Requires home schooled students to participate in certain annual in person tests at the public school that the student would otherwise be required to attend.

Lisa MartenDemocrat

RELATING TO PROPERTY DAMAGE OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES.

Establishes the class C felony offense of criminal property damage to critical infrastructure facilities. Expands the term "critical infrastructure" to include broadband, wireless, and cable networks. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO COMMUNITY CARE FOSTER FAMILY HOMES.

Clarifies that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who meet an intermediate care facility or nursing facility level of care shall not be denied residency in a licensed community care foster family home solely because of their disability or enrollment in a specific medicaid waiver program. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Luke A. EvslinDemocrat

RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Prohibits digital navigation applications from providing an alert, indication, or other type of notice to users of the presence of law enforcement personnel or a law enforcement operation at any specific location.

Darius K. KilaDemocrat

RELATING TO OPIOID USE DISORDER TREATMENT.

Authorizes licensed paramedics in a county with a population of 100,000 or less to administer buprenorphine after administration of an opioid antagonist in cases of opioid overdoses, under certain conditions. Requires the Department of Health to implement a two-year phased pilot program beginning in one county with a population of 100,000 or less and authorizes expansion of the program statewide as additional treatment resources become available. Requires a report to the Legislature evaluating program outcomes. Appropriates funds. Sunsets 6/30/2028. (SD1)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH.

Establishes and appropriates funds for a one-year Digital Youth Mental Health Platform Pilot Project that will enable the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division of the Department of Health to develop and make publicly available a digital platform designed to help young people address and manage mental health challenges. Requires a report to the Legislature. (SD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

Allows a retirant employed as an investigator identified by the Department of Law Enforcement or Department of the Attorney General as a labor shortage or difficult-to-fill position to be rehired without reenrollment in the Employees' Retirement System and without a loss or interruption of retirement benefits, subject to certain conditions. Requires annual reports to the Legislature to include details on the employment of retirants as investigators.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.

Requires the Office of Consumer Protection to submit an annual report to the Legislature regarding actions taken in response to potential violations of the Residential-Landlord Tenant Code. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Jarrett KeohokaloleDemocrat

RELATING TO COMPLEX PATIENT TREATMENT.

Appropriates funds to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Department of Health to contract with community-based organizations for a behavioral health complex patient model. Requires a report to the Legislature. (SD1)

Joy A. San BuenaventuraDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Requires certain government entities in the State that issue building permits to establish a self-certification process for behind-the-meter, customer-sited solar distributed energy resource systems that deems permit applications approved and allows applicants to proceed to build solar distributed energy resource system immediately. Requires certain government entities in the State that issue building permits to develop guidance for determining specific conditions when a Federal Emergency Management Agency-mandated No-Rise Certification is not required for a solar distributed energy resource system located in a regulatory floodway. Effective 4/19/2042. (SD1)

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO CERTIFICATES OF NEED.

Exempts from the certificate of need requirements certain health care facilities and services that provide certain health care services, serve federally designated medically underserved rural areas, lower patient costs, are unlikely to be overprescribed, and assist certain vulnerable populations. (SD1)

Joy A. San BuenaventuraDemocrat

RELATING TO A PROGRAM TO CHARACTERIZE CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL AND GEOTHERMAL AND UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES STATEWIDE.

Establishes a Geothermal, Carbon Sequestration, and Underground Water Resource Characterization Program via slim hole bores and a related statewide environmental assessment. Appropriates funds for the program. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAII TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

Appropriates funds to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent Advanced Manufacturing and Cybersecurity Specialist position and one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent Marketing and Branding Specialist position within the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO BACKGROUND CHECKS.

Authorizes applicants, operators, and third-party employers, rather than the Department of Health, to conduct background checks of employees and adult volunteers at healthcare facilities. Effective 1/30/2050. (SD1)

Joy A. San BuenaventuraDemocrat

RELATING TO SPORTS OFFICIALS.

Authorizes the Attorney General to represent sports officials in civil proceedings if the sports official has been assaulted or threatened in the course of legally discharging their sports official duties. Makes intentional bodily injury of a sports official engaged in the lawful discharge of the sports official's duties a class B felony. Clarifies that a sports official includes a school or league administrator. Clarifies that a sports official's duties cover sports events at public schools and private schools.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO DISCRIMINATION.

Prohibits discrimination based on the perception that a person possesses certain characteristics, the perception that a person is associated with a person who possesses, or is perceived to possess, certain characteristics, or the intersection or combination of two or more specified characteristics in relation to a person. (SD1)

Chris LeeDemocrat

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

Renames the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism as the Department of Housing, Economic Development, and Tourism. Effective 7/1/2060. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE VICTIM WITNESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

Requires the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu to submit a report to the Legislature. Appropriates grant-in-aid moneys to the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu for the Victim Witness Assistance Program. (SD1)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

Prohibits homeowners insurance policies from limiting or denying payment of replacement costs, extended replacement costs, or building code upgrade costs for a dwelling solely because the insured elects to rebuild the dwelling at a different location or purchase an already-constructed home at a different location. Allows for the combination of dwelling and other structures coverage limits to fund the rebuilding or replacement of the primary residence under certain conditions. Requires notice to policyholders.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.

Appropriates funds to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for contracted services for the assessment and inventory of the Molokai Irrigation System.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO COMBUSTION-FREE ENERGY SOLUTIONS.

Requires the Hawaii State Energy Office to commission a study of various energy sectors relating to cost-effective methods for decarbonization. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAII TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

Requires the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation to establish state goals and implement projects to advance economic diversification through innovation and technology. Appropriates funds to support the Hawaii Small Business Innovation Research Program, Manufacturing Assistance Program, and accelerator and small business training programs. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO TAX EXPENDITURE EVALUATION.

Requires tax expenditure disclosure to, and evaluation by, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism for certain income tax credits and general excise and use tax exemptions. Requires the Department of Taxation to share certain information with DBEDT upon request. (SD1)

Donovan M. Dela CruzDemocrat

RELATING TO SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL TAX CREDIT.

Establishes a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel distribution in Hawaii to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Provides $1 per gallon, increasing by 2 cents per additional 1 per cent emissions reduction, up to $2 per gallon. Caps total credits at $20,000,000 annually, with carryover provisions. Requires reporting to ensure transparency and compliance. Applies to taxable years after December 31, 2025, and sunsets on December 31, 2035.

Lorraine R. InouyeDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Clarifies that the dwelling units eligible for the Rent-to-Own Program shall be units that are for sale in fee simple or leasehold on non-ceded state or county land under a lease with an initial term of not less than 99 years. Replaces the five-year period during which the sales price of a rent-to-own dwelling unit shall remain fixed with an option period established by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO LAND USE DECISION-MAKING.

Provides the authority for counties to amend district boundaries up to 25 acres for purposes of residential housing, agricultural workforce housing, long-term rental, or workforce fee simple ownership.

Lorraine R. InouyeDemocrat

RELATING TO ADOPTIONS.

Adds the requirement that a written consent to adoption be notarized.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES.

Appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services to issue supplemental contracts to community-based organizations to address increases in costs related to labor, insurance, utilities, rent, and gas.

Troy N. HashimotoDemocrat