Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO NATURAL RESOURCES.

Appropriates funds for the removal of overgrown vegetation from the Kainahola Stream drainageway. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO CLAIMS AGAINST THE STATE.

Prohibits claims for refunds, reimbursements, or other payments, authorization for which is sought from the Legislature that exceed the time limitations of section 40-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes, from being claimed. Requires the Attorney General to submit a confidential report within five days after the opening of a Regular Session to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, Chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that provides a good faith estimate of each possible judgment against the State that has not yet settled. Requires the Attorney General to submit a report every five years to the Legislature containing further incidents that occurred in an agency that led to a claim. (SD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.

Amends the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA) to require contractors who perform agency functions to retain records following the retention schedule of the agency and to provide the agency access to the records upon request. Establishes that all records retained by an agency function contractor shall be deemed government records for the purposes of the UIPA. Exempts contracts entered into by the Employees' Retirement System. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCING FOR CANDIDATES TO ELECTED OFFICE.

Establishes a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices in the State, to begin with the 2028 general election year. Requires the Campaign Spending Commission to submit reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 3/22/2075. (SD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE.

Requires that whenever there is a difference between the English and Hawaii version of law that is material to its interpretation, priority shall be given to the language that aligns with the intent of the legislature as evidenced by legislative history, context, and purpose. Clarifies that Hawaiian shall not be required for public acts and transactions, but is welcomed. (SD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII, SECTION 3 OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO SPECIFY THAT THE STANDARD FOR VOTER APPROVAL OF A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED BY THE LEGISLATURE IS A MAJORITY OF ALL THE VOTES TALLIED UPON THE QUESTION.

Proposes to amend article XVII, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution regarding the standard for ratification of a constitutional amendment proposed by the Legislature, to provide that proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

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.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Directs the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to conduct a study on insurance coverage for small agricultural producers. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

Codifies the Agricultural Statistics Program in statute. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND BIOSECURITY.

Appropriates funds for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) grant writer position within the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and converts the position from temporary to permanent. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Establishes the Kuleana AgTech Pathways Program to create career pipelines in the fields of agriculture and agricultural technology. Requires the University of Hawaii to collaborate with the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Agribusiness Development Corporation, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and appropriate community organizations to develop and administer the program. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO THE TWO-LINED SPITTLEBUG.

Establishes a two-year Two-Lined Spittlebug Response Pilot Program to mitigate and control the spread of the two-lined spittlebug. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS.

Requires that an environmental assessment be conducted and an environmental impact statement be prepared for any proposed use within historic properties designated by the Hawaii or National Register of Historic Places, important to native Hawaiian people or to another ethnic group of the State, or determined to be eligible as a traditional cultural property or place on the National Register of Historic Places. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Establishes the Farmland Transition Commission to examine barriers certain farmers face when trying to purchase or access farmland and provide recommendations on possible incentives or policies to assist these individuals in purchasing or accessing farmland. Requires an annual report to the Legislature. Sunsets 12/31/2032. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO CONDOMINIUMS.

For purposes of registering a condominium project in an agricultural district, (1) lowers the threshold from projects with five units to projects with two units for which a signed statement from a county is required and (2) requires a signed statement from the neighborhood board, if applicable.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

Authorizes a court to modify sentences imposed on juvenile offenders if certain conditions are met and the court finds that, after considering certain factors, the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any person or the community and the modification is in the interests of justice. Establishes procedures, provides for hearings and representation by counsel, and authorizes appellate review. (HD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO INCOME TAX.

Establishes a Solar Canopy Installation Tax Credit that applies to taxable years beginning after 12/31/2026. Requires the Director of Taxation to take certain actions to implement the tax credit.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Requires government entities in the State that issue building permits to implement SolarAPP+ or a functionally equivalent online automated permitting platform that verifies code compliance and issues permits to licensed contractors for solar distributed energy resource systems in real-time by 1/1/2027. Requires government entities in the State that issue building permits in areas served by an investor-owned electric utility to adopt a self-certification process for solar distributed energy resource systems that are not SolarAPP+ compatible.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO AIR POLLUTION.

Requires owners or operators of waste combustion facilities to develop a plan to implement continuous monitoring and sampling technologies at each combustion unit to monitor and sample for certain air contaminants. Requires a publicly available website hosted by the Department of Health to track and display the data collected on the air contaminants. Requires the Department of Health to adjust permit limits for air contaminants based on the data collected. Requires annual reports to the Legislature.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO AIR POLLUTION.

Allows air pollutants collected by a complainant or Department of Health's Clean Air Branch master to be used as evidence to initiate complaints on air pollution; in hearings in connection with air pollution; and in legal proceedings in the name of the State for the prevention, control, or abatement of air pollution.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO LUNG CANCER SCREENING.

Requires the Department of Health to develop by 12/31/2026, standardized educational materials relating to lung cancer screening and language on lung cancer screening information to be included in signage and written notices to be used by retailers of tobacco products. Beginning 1/1/2027, requires retailers engaged in the retail sale of tobacco products to display signage on lung cancer screening at each point of sale and provide written notice on lung cancer screening to each buyer of a tobacco product.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

Amends the State Internship and Workforce Development Program for the public sector by expanding the program to the Legislative and Judicial branches; limiting the internships to full-time placements of ten to eleven months; establishing eligibility criteria, application requirements, and selection preferences; and requiring the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to collaborate with coordinating agencies to promote the program and recruit eligible applicants. Appropriates funds. Effective 1/1/2077. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO A TINY HOME GRANT PILOT PROGRAM.

Establishes a three-year Tiny Home Grant Pilot Program within the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation. Requires counties and nonprofit organizations that are awarded a grant to submit an annual report to the HHFDC. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds and establishes a position. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO PROPERTY.

Prohibits a county from issuing a building permit for a project that violates any private covenant or restrictive covenant that has been registered with the Bureau of Conveyances or Land Court.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Clarifies the definition of "qualified nonprofit housing trust" in chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to require qualifying organizations to exclusively serve "qualified residents" as defined in section 201H-32, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

Requires the Department of Transportation to require each person arriving in the State at an airport with a state-funded Wi-Fi service to view a one-minute educational video on the environmental protection laws and regulations of the State and counties before the person is granted access to the Wi‑Fi service. Requires the Department to collaborate with the Hawaii Tourism Authority to develop the educational video. Expands the responsibilities of the Hawaii Tourism Authority to include the implementation and administration of tourism-related initiatives, in collaboration with other public agencies, that are designed to educate visitors on the environmental protection laws and regulations of the State and counties. Appropriates funds.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO ADDITIVES IN FOOD.

Beginning January 1, 2027, bans the manufacture, sale, offer of sale, or distribution in the State of any food that contains certain petroleum-based synthetic food dyes and synthetic chemical additives.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO FIRE PREVENTION.

Requires each state agency to create and regularly update a wildfire hazard map. Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to adopt rules. Specifies that the Department of Land and Natural Resources shall clear brush present on state lands for more than sixty days through the Community Fuels Reduction Project. Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to remove certain brush from high- and medium-risk wildfire areas on state lands. Requires reports to the Legislature.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO VOTER REGISTRATION.

Makes an application for voter registration part of the enrollment application or course registration process for Department of Education high schools. Requires eligible student applicants to be given the choice to be registered to vote. Requires updating of names and addresses of eligible student applicants who are already registered to vote unless the applicant declines. Requires the sharing of certain information among the counties, Department of Education, election personnel, and online voter registration system.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO LAND USE.

Requires any petitioner for a district boundary amendment to obtain a written statement from the Commission on Water Resources Management on water availability in the hydrologic unit or units where the parcel is located and provide that certification to the Land Use Commission. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD2)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO ZERO-EMISSIONS VEHICLES.

Appropriates funds for the Hawaii State Energy Office to analyze zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure in the State. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE PSYCHOLOGY INTERJURISDICTIONAL COMPACT.

Enacts, and authorizes the Governor to enter into, the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO CESSPOOLS.

Amends the deadlines for the upgrade or conversion of cesspools to Director of Health-approved wastewater system or connection of cesspools to a sewerage system. Requires priority 1 cesspools to be upgraded, converted, or connected by 12/31/2050, and phases the deadlines for lower priority cesspools in later years. Requires the Director of Health, in consultation with the counties, to determine the prioritization level of all cesspools in the State.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO NEPOTISM.

Subjects legislative and judicial employees to the same ethical standards prohibiting nepotism that are applicable to other state employees.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO REVOLVING DOOR RESTRICTIONS FOR STATE EMPLOYEES.

Prohibits new state employees from taking official action on matters they worked on before state employment. Prohibits former permanent employees of the Office of the Governor and Office of the Lieutenant Governor from representing persons or businesses for a period of 12 months after termination from state employment. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES.

Expands the scope of persons who are subject to public financial disclosure requirements. Makes technical, conforming amendments to disclosure provisions applicable to legislators. Clarifies that an amount of stock may be reported by the value or number of shares. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES.

Expands the scope of persons who are required to file financial disclosures to include gubernatorial nominees subject to Senate confirmation. Makes technical amendments relating to legislators. (SD2)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO BRIBERY.

Establishes heightened penalties for the offense of bribery under certain circumstances. Effective 3/22/2075. (SD1)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO THE PROMOTION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

Amends the offense of promoting a controlled substance in, on, or near schools, school vehicles, public parks, or public housing projects or complexes to include homeless facilities. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

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 ELDER CRIME VICTIMS.

Removes state of mind requirement pertaining to a victim's age for felony assaults aggravated by the victim's age.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY.

Amends the offense of negligent injury in the first degree to include substantial bodily injury caused by the operation of a vehicle in a negligent manner while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO ABUSE OF FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS.

Maintains the petty misdemeanor offense of abuse of family or household member by repealing the sunset of amendments made to sections 709-906 and 853-4, HRS, by Act 19, SLH 2020. Repeals provisions authorizing a deferred acceptance of a guilty plea for misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor abuse of family or household members offenses.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO BIODIESEL.

Requires the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to adopt rules to require that diesel fuel sold in the State for use in on-highway diesel-powered motor vehicles contains no less than five per cent biodiesel by volume.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO VEGETATIVE BURNING.

Prohibits the Department of Health from issuing permits for commercial burning of green waste products in residential areas or within one thousand feet of a residential property.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO LOCAL PURCHASING PREFERENCE.

Gradually requires that, by 2032, 30% of the natural landscaping materials purchased by certain departments be locally sourced, meaning 50% of the wholesale value is added by manufacture, processing, production, or harvesting in the State. Applies to the Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Defense, Department of Accounting and General Services, and University of Hawaii System. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Effective 1/1/2525. (SD1)

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.

Provides that an individual who becomes a lessee of a tract of Hawaiian home lands, either as an original lessee or as a successor lessee, shall forfeit any interest as an original lessee or successor lessee in any other tract of Hawaiian home lands and be removed from any applicant waitlist.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat