Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO SERVICE ANIMALS.

Requires sellers or providers of emotional support animals or of certificates, identifications, tags, vests, leashes, and harnesses that identify an animal as an emotional support animal to provide certain disclaimers to the buyer or recipient. Establishes penalties.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO COPYING FEES.

Prohibits the cost of reproducing government records in a digital format from exceeding 5 cents per digital record that has already been digitized. Effective 1/1/2525. (SD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

Expands the State's temporary disability insurance coverage to, and exempts from TDI benefit eligibility requirements that are employment-related, employees who are unable to perform their employment duties due to the employee's childbirth or provision of kangaroo care to, or expression of breast milk for, the employee's child who is required to stay in a neonatal intensive care unit. Extends under certain conditions the temporary disability benefit payment period and family leave period for employees who are unable to perform their employment duties due to a preterm birth of a child who is required to stay in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or birth of a child who is required to stay in a NICU for more than eight weeks. Defines "kangaroo care" and "preterm birth". Requires the Department of Health to amend its rules to include neonatal care as related condition where the phrase "pregnancy, childbirth, or other related condition" is used.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Appropriates funds to the Department of Education to increase per-pupil expenditures to $18,000 per student.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

Appropriates funds to the Department of Education to design and construct photovoltaic panel coverings over playgrounds at all Department of Education schools.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO STATE AND COUNTY EMPLOYMENT.

Prohibits the State or any of its branches, political subdivisions, or agencies or any county from requiring a bachelor's degree as a condition of eligibility for hire to a position in state or county employment. Establishes exemptions.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AT STATE SMALL BOAT HARBORS AND STATE PARKS.

Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources to engage in certain capital improvement projects at state small boat harbors and state parks without prior approval from the Legislature and Governor for existing facilities. Requires quarterly reports to the Legislature. Sunsets 5 years after the effective date. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Requires the Hawaii State Energy Office to assess the feasibility of installing distributed energy resource systems at each state department facility. Requires state departments to implement and install the distributed energy resource systems detailed in the reports no later than five years from the issue date of the reports. Gives priority for the required energy efficiency measures to first responder facilities. (SD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO FIREWORKS.

Establishes a civil cause of action that may be brought by any person, other than an officer or employee of the State or employee of a local governmental entity in the State, for certain violations or aiding or abetting certain violations of the Fireworks Control Law.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO RESTORING ACCESS TO DISASTER-AFFECTED AREAS.

Requires the Department of Transportation to institute proceedings to condemn certain lands in Lahaina to build a new access road from Keawe Street to the Kilohana and Kalaiola sites developed in the Villages of Leialii. Appropriates funds out of the Major Disaster Fund for the appraisals and other preparations for the condemnation proceedings. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO TRAIL ACCESSIBILITY.

Establishes the Accessible Wilderness and State Parks Trails Program within the Division of State Parks of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Establishes the Accessible Wilderness and State Parks Trails Program Special Fund. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO THE RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD-TENANT CODE.

Prohibits rental agreements from prohibiting tenants from keeping pet animals in dwelling units, subject to certain conditions. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO CONTRACTORS.

Establishes as a class B felony the unlicensed performance of contractor work, during or within 5 years following a national emergency, state of emergency, or disaster proclamation, in an affected political subdivision. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO REGULATORY SUNSET REVIEW IN HAWAII.

Establishes a regulatory review program overseen by the Department of the Attorney General to evaluate all Hawaii Administrative Rules adopted by state agencies and identify any rules that should be retained, modified or repealed. Requires each state agency to review 20 per cent of their rules every year and submit a report to the Department of the Attorney General. Requires the Department of the Attorney General to notify the Governor and Legislature of any noncompliance by a state agency, adopt rules, and submit annual reports to the Legislature and Governor. Appropriates funds. Effective 1/1/2525. (SD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

Requires each motor vehicle insurance policy to cover the replacement cost of a child passenger restraint system that was damaged or in use by a child during a motor vehicle accident for which liability coverage under the policy is applicable. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Allows newly graduated high school students to be eligible for workers' compensation coverage during the summer following their high school graduation while participating in Department of Education-sponsored work-based learning programs. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Michelle N. KidaniDemocrat

RELATING TO LITERACY.

Requires the Department of Education to administer a general dyslexia screening to all students in kindergarten through grade three. Requires the Department of Education to continue to administer the general English language arts universal screening for students in kindergarten through grade nine. Requires the Department of Education to collaborate with teacher training programs to ensure prospective candidates are trained on literacy instruction, including evidence-based intervention, to support all students. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Michelle N. KidaniDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Authorizes the Department of Education to award a high school diploma to qualified persons who did not receive a high school diploma as a result of compulsory or voluntary induction into the armed services of the United States or whose high school education was interrupted due to wartime practices during World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Michelle N. KidaniDemocrat

RELATING TO LABOR STANDARDS AT HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.

Establish certain minimum registered nurse-to-patient ratios for hospitals. Establishes a process to obtain a variance from the minimum registered nurse staffing standards. Requires hospitals to establish hospital registered nurse staffing committees by 9/1/2025 to develop and adopt registered nurse staffing plans. Requires the staffing committees to submit a charter to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Beginning 7/1/2026, requires hospitals to submit their registered nurse staffing plan on an annual basis, and implement the staffing plan. Establishes a complaint and appeals process and penalties. Appropriates funds.

AQUINO

RELATING TO QUALIFIED COMMUNITY REHABILITATION PROGRAMS.

Clarifies that the civil service exemption for personal service contracts for building, custodial, and grounds maintenance services with qualified community rehabilitation programs shall not cost more than $850,000 in the aggregate per private person or entity, regardless of the number of contracts or qualified community rehabilitation programs utilized for the personal service. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

AQUINO

RELATING TO AN EARLY LEARNING APPRENTICESHIP GRANT PROGRAM.

Establishes an Early Learning Apprenticeship Grant Program to be administered by the University of Hawaii to provide financial support for early learning program service providers in the State to participate in state- or federally-approved early learning apprenticeship programs. Requires an annual report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/31/2050. (SD1)

AQUINO

RELATING TO LAND LEASES.

Prohibits the State from leasing any public lands, or extending the lease of any public lands, to any individual, corporation, or federal agency that is in arrears in the payment of certain moneys to the State, noncompliant with a consent decree or memoranda of agreement with the State that requires environmental maintenance or remediation with regard to the subject public lands, or convicted of a crime. Requires certification by the Office of the Governor before the issuance or extension of any federal lease that the individual, corporation, or federal agency is in good standing with the State. Provides that, if any existing lessee of public lands is found not to be in good standing with the State as of the effective date of this Act, the lessee shall have three years, or until the end of the lease term, whichever is sooner, to correct the violation or the lease shall be terminated.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS.

Creates an incremental prohibition on tobacco products and electronic smoking devices by restricting their sale, possession, furnishing, or consumption in a public place to people born after 1/1/2005. Effective 1/1/2026.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Requires the Department of Taxation to provide refunds to taxpayers at the same interest rate as the federal government. Effective 7/1/2025. (SD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO PARKING FOR DISABLED PERSONS.

Allows persons entitled to park in disabled parking spaces to report vehicles illegally parked in disabled parking spaces to the Department of Law Enforcement. Upon receipt of a legitimate report, requires the Department to send a notice to the offender informing them of the report and advising them of the law and penalties for illegally parking in a handicapped space.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO EQUITABLE GENDER REPRESENTATION ON CORPORATE BOARDS.

Requires publicly held domestic corporations to have gender-diverse boards of directors. Requires the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to publish certain reports on the Department's website. Establishes penalties.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO WEAPONS.

Prohibits any person from openly carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon. Includes bladed weapon in the list of deadly or dangerous weapons. Establishes an affirmative defense to a prosecution for the purposes of lawful self-defense and transporting a weapon.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO TREATMENT FOR MENTAL ILLNESS.

Establishes a pilot program in the Department of Health to provide intensive mobile treatment-type services, e.g., "street psychiatry", to chronically houseless adult individuals suffering from serious brain disorders like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO VOTING.

Requires the Office of Elections to include a notice to voters that a digital and print voter information guide is available. Requires the notice to be in thirty-two-point font and enclosed as a separate insert with each ballot. Requires the Office of Elections to maintain a notice on its website providing certain information about the voter information guide. Requires the Office of Elections to make the digital voter information guide available to the public no later than twenty-one days before the primary election and no later than fifty days before the general election. Appropriates funds. Effective 4/23/2057. (SD1)

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL.

Provides that no person shall serve as State Fire Marshal for more than three terms. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Donovan M. Dela CruzDemocrat

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Establishes an income tax credit for capital infrastructure costs incurred in the conversion of a dairy farm to a hog farm. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Donovan M. Dela CruzDemocrat

RELATING TO WATER POLLUTION.

Requires at least fifty per cent of treatment works effluent to be R-1 recycled water by January 1, 2045. Requires each county to report to the Department of Health by 1/1/2027 on the feasibility of recycling treatment works effluent that meets certain standards. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Donovan M. Dela CruzDemocrat

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 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 TOURISM.

Appropriates funds to sponsor a Michelin Guide for restaurants statewide.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

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 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

Authorizes the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to request the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to furnish a list of five qualified and experienced interest arbitrators in the event the parties fail to select the neutral third member of the arbitration panel. Clarifies that the list of five interest arbitrators may contain arbitrators from both the American Arbitration Association and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. (SD1)

AQUINO

RELATING TO TAXATION.

For taxable years beginning after 12/31/2025, temporarily reinstates the Technology Infrastructure Renovation Tax Credit and expands the definition of "technology-enabled infrastructure" to include data servers. Requires the Department of Taxation to submit a report to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

AQUINO

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.

AQUINO

RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

Clarifies that the Hawaii Labor Relations Board has the authority to enforce its own orders issued pursuant to state law governing collective bargaining in public employment, in addition to discretion to seek judicial enforcement of its orders under the Hawaii Employment Relations Act. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

AQUINO

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.

AQUINO

RELATING TO PAID FAMILY LEAVE.

Requires five days of paid family leave annually for certain state and county employees. Ensures the protection of wage, seniority, and other employment benefits of employees who take paid family leave. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

AQUINO

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.

AQUINO

RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCING.

Increases the amount of partial public campaign financing available for all elective offices. Adjusts the minimum amount of qualifying contributions certain candidates must receive to participate in the program. Increases the matching fund payments for excess qualifying contributions. Appropriates funds for the program and staff. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

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 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 CAPITAL GAINS.

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

Karl RhoadsDemocrat