Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO MARRIAGE LICENSE AGENTS.

Authorizes private marriage license agents to collect up to $25 from applicants for marriage licenses.

Jeanne KapelaDemocrat

RELATING TO FIREWORKS.

Prohibits the use of consumer fireworks except, by permit, for cultural use. Repeals portions of section 132D-3(1), HRS, that generally allow the use of consumer fireworks without a permit on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and the Fourth of July. Specifies that no fireworks shall be sold to a permittee holding a permit issued for purposes of cultural use more than 5 calendar days before the applicable cultural use. Makes technical amendments to definitions of "consumer fireworks" and "cultural" within fireworks law.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO NEPOTISM.

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

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

Repeals on 6/30/2026 the provision prohibiting counties from requiring the installation or retrofitting of automatic fire sprinklers or automatic fire sprinkler systems in certain new or existing detached residential one- and two-family dwelling units and non-residential agricultural and aquacultural buildings and structures.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES.

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

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

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.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO RENT STABILIZATION.

Establishes a statewide 3% annual limit on rent increases under chapter 521, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Prohibits rent increases during the first 12 months of a tenancy and requires notice and certification for exempt properties.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO STATE BOATING FACILITIES.

Establishes a State Boating Facility Lease Program within the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to be administered by DOBOR. Authorizes the Board of Land and Natural to lease Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor for private development, management, maintenance, and operation. Repeals provisions relating to the leasing of fast lands and submerged lands of Ala Wai Boat Harbor. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Repeals the State Boating Facility Lease Program on 6/30/2045.

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO PROHIBIT DESTRUCTIVE LIVE-FIRE MILITARY TRAINING ON PUBLIC LANDS.

Proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit destructive live-fire military training on State public trust lands.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

Requires the Hawaii Property Insurance Association to include in its plan of operation insurance coverage for commercial properties twice denied by private insurers.

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO THE PSYCHOLOGY INTERJURISDICTIONAL COMPACT.

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

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

Establishes the Hawaii State Fellows Program within the Department of Human Resources Development to match talented applicants with full-time, paid fellowship roles in various state agencies for a period of ten to eleven months. Establishes minimum qualifications and procedures for eligible applicants to apply to the program. Gives preference to eligible program applicants who have pre-existing ties to the State or a demonstrated commitment to long-term leadership in the State. Requires the Department of Human Resources Development, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, to coordinate with state agencies to implement and promote the program. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

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.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO BRIBERY.

Establishes heightened penalties for the offense of bribery under certain circumstances.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE VICTIM WITNESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

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.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF RETIRANTS.

Authorizes the rehiring of retirants for positions that are unique and critical to operations. Limits the duration of each retirant's reemployment to 4 years.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO INTOXICATING LIQUOR.

Establishes when unannounced visits and inspections may be conducted. Repeals a category for dispenser licenses in which employees sit with patrons. Clarifies the investigator's and police officer's authority to enter a liquor premises if they are denied admittance.

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

RELATING TO COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSING.

Requires that state and county firefighters exempt from commercial driver licensure be subject to an alcohol and substance abuse policy for employees that is equivalent to, or exceeds the provisions of, the safety and health standards established by the United States Department of Transportation for holders of commercial driver's licenses.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO ASSAULT AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

Establishes appropriate sanctions for the offense of assault against a law enforcement officer in the first degree.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Establishes new deadlines for the completion of Law Enforcement Standards Board certification responsibilities.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

Establishes a gradient penalty structure for the offense of hindering prosecution in the first degree, based on the level of offense hindered.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX.

Authorizes each county that has established a surcharge on state tax before 7/1/2015 to extend the surcharge until 12/31/2045 at the same rates if the county does so before 1/1/2028. Provides that no county surcharge on state tax authorized for a county that has not established a surcharge on state tax before 7/1/2015, shall be levied before 1/1/2019 or after 12/31/2045. Repeals certain conditions on the use of surcharges received from the State for counties having a population equal to or less than 500,000 that adopt a county surcharge on state tax.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

Establishes a class C felony penalty for the unlawful possession, control, or transfer of a firearm or ammunition in violation of a valid judicial protective order or restraining order.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO FAMILY.

Exempts, under certain circumstances, parties alleging domestic abuse from participating in mediation during paternity or divorce proceedings.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO THE CONVEYANCE TAX.

Establishes the Homeless Services Special Fund. Allows counties to apply for matching funds from the Affordable Homeownership Revolving Fund for certain housing projects. Increases the conveyance tax rates for certain properties. Establishes conveyance tax rates for multifamily residential properties. Establishes new exemptions to the conveyance tax. Allocates collected conveyance taxes to the Affordable Homeownership Revolving Fund, Homeless Services Special Fund, and Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund. Amends allocations to the Land Conservation Fund and Rental Housing Revolving Fund.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Adds new preferences for state and county employees to the eligibility criteria for housing development programs administered by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation. Clarifies the Corporation's authority to adopt rules and determine the order of applicant preferences.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO SEX-SPECIFIC STUDENT ATHLETIC TEAMS.

Creates the requirement of school sports to designate sex-specific teams for the purpose of gender equality.

Diamond GarciaRepublican

RELATING TO THE PSYCHOLOGY INTERJURISDICTIONAL COMPACT.

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

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Repeals language prohibiting county legislative bodies from imposing stricter conditions or other requirements on certain housing projects of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS.

Repeals law that provides that all local ordinances or regulations that regulate the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and electronic smoking devices are preempted and that existing local laws and regulations conflicting with the state law on smoking are null and void. Clarifies that counties retain the authority to adopt ordinances that regulate the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and electronic smoking devices, as long as the ordinances do not conflict with and are more stringent than the state law on smoking.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Repeals the sunset provision in Act 45, SLH 2024, related to the counties' authorization to develop, construct, finance, refinance, or otherwise provide mixed-use developments.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO OPIOID USE DISORDER TREATMENT.

Authorizes licensed paramedics 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 phased pilot program in at least 1 county with verified linkage-to-care capacity and authorizes expansion of the program statewide as additional treatment resources become available. Requires a report to the Legislature evaluating program outcomes.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO WATER POLLUTION.

Appropriates general funds into and out of the water pollution control revolving fund to provide additional low-interest loans for eligible projects.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO CESSPOOLS.

Provides a temporary income tax credit for the cost of upgrading or converting a cesspool to a septic system or an aerobic treatment unit system or connecting to a sewer system. Permits the Department of Health, as a pilot program, to certify no more than two residential large capacity cesspools. Applies to taxable years after 12/31/2027. Sunsets 12/31/2032.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

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.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE.

Requires each public high school in the State to require students to complete and pass 2 full years of Hawaiian language courses as a condition of graduation.

Diamond GarciaRepublican

RELATING TO CIVIL SERVICE EXEMPTION OF COUNTY POSITIONS.

Exempts positions of a county Housing and Community Development Office or Department from civil service laws.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.

Prohibits state or county contractor's officers and any officer's immediate family, with contracts of $100,000 or more for goods or services or $250,000 or more for construction, from contributing to candidate or noncandidate committees, candidates, or any person for any political purpose for the duration of the contract. Prohibits grantees, grantees' officers and grantees' officer's immediate family, with grants of more than $100,000, from contributing to candidate or noncandidate committees, candidates, or any person for any political purpose for the duration of the grant. Requires any unlawful contribution to be returned to the contributor or it will escheat to the Hawaii election campaign fund.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.

Establishes new requirements for the disposition of public lands, including requiring two-thirds approval of each house of the Legislature via concurrent resolution and with a supporting resolution from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and applies this requirement to the disposition of public lands to public utilities and renewable energy producers as well. Limits the duration of public land disposition to the United States military to twenty-five years. Requires any new land disposition to the United States military to be accompanied by a clean-up and remediation bond from the United States military to be deposited into the state treasury. Prohibits the Board of Land and Natural Resources from issuing any new land disposition to the United States military until the military, State, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs reach an agreement in principle on certain matters.

Ikaika HusseyDemocrat

RELATING TO CRIMINAL MISCHIEF.

Establishes the offense of criminal mischief as a petty misdemeanor for low level property offenses.

Garner M. ShimizuRepublican

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Requires an audit for a self-insured employer or an insurance carrier that defaults in workers' compensation payments to identify other instances of unpaid compensation claims.

Garner M. ShimizuRepublican

RELATING TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS.

Repeals existing law that preempted local ordinances or regulations that regulate the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and electronic smoking devices and nullified and voided any conflicting local laws and regulations. Allows counties to adopt ordinances that regulate the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and electronic smoking devices that do not conflict with and are more stringent than the state law that govern smoking.

Scot Z. MatayoshiDemocrat

RELATING TO PROTECTION OF MINORS.

Protects minors from addictive content by imposing special requirements for operators regarding consent, notifications, and age verification. Protects minors from having their online personal data processed without parental consent.

Garner M. ShimizuRepublican

RELATING TO CONDOMINIUMS.

Part I: Establishes an Ombudsman's Office and gives the Real Estate Commission the authority to investigate complaints. Part II: Broadens the list of documents an association must maintain and provide to unit owners.

Garner M. ShimizuRepublican

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE THIRTY-SECOND REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT.

Authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds and appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the 32nd representative district.

Garner M. ShimizuRepublican

RELATING TO TIME LIMITATIONS FOR CRIMES.

Adds sexual assault in the third and fourth degrees to the list of offenses which are not subject to a time limitation for prosecution.

Diamond GarciaRepublican

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE.

Prohibits private passenger automobile insurance businesses from stockpiling excess premium profits. Requires private passenger automobile insurance businesses to return excess premium profits to consumers.

Diamond GarciaRepublican

RELATING TO TAXATION.

PART II: Exempts the sale of groceries and nonprescription drugs from the general excise tax. PART III: Removes the state income tax on unemployment compensation benefits. PART IV: Doubles the standard deduction for individuals earning less than $100,000 and joint filers earning less than $200,000. Repeals the incremental increases on standard income tax deduction amounts. PART V: Increases the maximum adjusted gross income allowed to qualify for the low-income household renters' income tax credit and increases the credit amount. PART VI: Repeals the incremental changes to income tax brackets and removes the tax liability for the first $100,000 of individual income earned.

Darius K. KilaDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION FUNDING.

Requires the Committee on Weights to develop recommendations for a weighted student formula that achieves resource parity between public schools and independent schools of the State. Requires reports to the Legislature.

Darius K. KilaDemocrat

RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.

Revises the deadline for a county council to take action on a low- and moderate-income housing project's application from 45 days to 90 days after receipt of the applicable agency's report and the proposed project's preliminary plans and specifications.

Andrew Takuya GarrettDemocrat