Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO MOTORCYCLES.

Requires all persons operating or riding a motorcycle to wear a safety helmet.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Beginning with the 2028-2029 school year, requires each public school in the State, including charter schools, to employ, or retain under contract, at least one mental health professional for every 250 students enrolled, subject to certain conditions. Requires the Department of Education to submit a progress report to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027. Appropriates moneys for the Department of Education to contract for mental health professionals and to establish an unspecified number of full‑time equivalent mental health professional positions within the Department of Education.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO TERMINAL ILLNESSES.

Authorizes manufacturers of investigational drugs or biological products that are pending approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration to make the drugs or products available to terminally ill patients under certain conditions.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO VOTING.

Requires the Department of Human Services' Med-QUEST division to automatically transmit applicants' voter registration information to the Office of Elections and clerk of the county of the applicant's residence, subject to certain conditions. Authorizes the Office of Elections to designate state agencies for automatic voter registration if the agency collects, processes, or stores certain information. Updates methods for automatic voter registration conducted by the Examiner of Drivers. Makes conforming amendments. Effective 1/30/2027.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH.

Requires the Department of Education to identify as an excused absence any absence due to the student's mental or behavioral health. Limits the number of excused absences due to mental or behavioral health that a student may take per academic year. Exempts an absence due to the student's mental or behavioral health from the enforcement of penalties relating to compulsory school attendance.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS.

Establishes a Capitol Visitor Center Working Group to study the feasibility of establishing a Capitol Visitor Center and submit a report to the Legislature. Requires the Department of Accounting and General Services to provide administrative support to the Working Group. Requires the Legislative Reference Bureau to assist the Working Group in preparing and submitting the report to the Legislature. Working Group to sunset on 6/30/2027. Effective 1/1/2525. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO STATE HOLIDAYS.

Designates the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice of each year as a state holiday celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION.

Requires the Land Use Commission to reclassify lands that are designated for urban growth under a county general plan or county development plan as being in the urban district at the request of the county.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION.

Specifies that a simple majority of affirmative votes of the members of the Land Use Commission present at a meeting and qualified to vote is required for any boundary amendment.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Beginning with the - school year, requires public elementary, middle, and high school classes to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Requires the Department of Education to adjust state-provided bus and school meal schedules accordingly.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE MOTOR VEHICLE RENTAL INDUSTRY.

Repeals vehicle license recovery fees. Reinstates certain costs of fees and taxes that may be passed on to lessees. Effective 1/1/2051.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.

Establishes as a deceptive trade practice the advertising, displaying, or offering of a price for goods or services that does not include all mandatory fees or charges, with certain exceptions.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

Requires the Department of Education to establish a statewide Environmental Stewardship Curricula Plan for public schools for certain students. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, requires public schools to offer an environmental stewardship course for certain students. Requires the Department of Education to establish and administer sustainability programs, including recycling and composting programs, to be implemented at public schools. Beginning 7/1/27, prohibits the use or distribution of single-use plastic utensils, trays, straws, and other disposable plastic food service products in public school cafeterias. Beginning 7/1/28, requires each public school to have at least one operational refillable water bottle filling station accessible to students and staff. Requires reports to the Board of Education and the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LITERACY EDUCATION.

Requires the Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide Artificial Intelligence Literacy Curricula Plan for students in eleventh and twelfth grades, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year as a condition for graduation. Establishes the Advisory Council for Artificial Intelligence Education. Establishes a three-year Artificial Intelligence Education Grant Pilot Program within the Department of Education. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, requires the Department of Education to provide free breakfast and lunch to students enrolled in a public school who meet certain requirements. Appropriates funds.

Brandon J.C. ElefanteDemocrat

MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.

Provides an emergency appropriation to the Department of Human Services to replace general fund appropriations redirected to provide emergency food assistance during the 2025 federal government shutdown. Appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services to help Hawaii residents obtain insurance available through the federal marketplace. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING DISCRIMINATION.

Allows the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission to prosecute discrimination based on source of income in housing cases. Clarifies penalties. Establishes a position. Appropriates funds. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO RENTAL DISCRIMINATION.

Allows the court to award attorneys' fees to a prevailing party in an action relating to discriminatory practices in a rental transaction based on source of income. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO BLUE CARBON.

Requires the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to establish a Statewide Blue Carbon Strategy. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO STUDENT ACCESS TO TELEHEALTH SERVICES.

Requires the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, to develop and distribute to each public middle and high school in the State guidelines for the establishment and operation of safe spaces for students to access telehealth services on school property during normal school hours. Requires each public middle and high school to establish and maintain a safe space for students according to the guidelines.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS.

Requires the Department of Human Services to establish or select and contract with a third-party administrator to serve as the State Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) who shall be responsible for administering all pharmacy benefits for medicaid beneficiaries enrolled with medicaid managed care organization. Requires medicaid managed care organizations to contract with and utilize the State PBM. Establishes requirements to procure the State PBM in addition to the requirements under state law governing purchases of health and human services. Establishes requirements and prohibitions for the contract to be used by the DHS when contracting with the state PBM. Requires the DHS to establish a single-preferred drug list to be used by the State PBM. Requires the DHS to consult with the Med-QUEST Healthcare Advisory Committee on the development, implementation, and oversight of the State PBM program. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO PLASTIC POLLUTION.

Prohibits the sale of any beverage contained in single-use plastic beverage containers where the plastic beverage cap is not tethered to the single-use plastic beverage container when the plastic beverage cap is removed. Requires plastic beverage caps tethered or otherwise attached to the single-use plastic beverage containers to be the same plastic resin.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

Beginning 1/1/2027, repeals the fourteen years and under age limit for health insurance coverage requirements for the diagnosis and treatment of autism. Repeals the maximum coverage benefit limit of $25,000 for applied behavioral analysis services.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS.

Requires the Department of Education to establish a School Bus Driver Recruitment Grant Program. Establishes a School Bus Driver Recruitment Special Fund. Establishes a Repayment Signing Bonus Program. Establishes a School Bus Driver Outreach and Pathway Program. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO FISHERIES.

Exempts actions involving the operation and management of fisheries in the State from environmental review requirements.

Lorraine R. InouyeDemocrat

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 10 to 11 months. Establishes minimum qualifications and procedures for eligible applicants to apply to the program. Gives preference to eligible program applicants who have a pre-existing connection to the State or a demonstrated commitment to long-term leadership in the State. Requires the Department of Human Resources Development to coordinate with state agencies to implement and promote the program. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates moneys.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO TOURISM.

Requires the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to establish a Hawaii Urban Planning Museum. Appropriates funds.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATED TO HOUSING.

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.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE POMAIKAI HAWAII FUND.

Establishes the Pomaikai Hawaii Fund, a state-owned sovereign wealth fund, into which certain portions of the transient accommodations tax revenues, moneys from general fund balance surpluses, moneys from civil action settlements where the State is a party, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of public lands shall be deposited. Establishes a Board of Directors to manage and invest the moneys in the Fund and distribute the earnings to qualified residents of the State beginning calendar year 2030. Requires the Board to adopt rules. Requires the Director of Finance to provide guidance to the Board on the establishment and administration of the Fund. Requires reports to the Legislature.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

Requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to study the establishment of a Hawaii Workforce Excellence Award Program. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 1/1/2077. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAII HOUSING FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

Adds the Executive Director of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY.

Adds the Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO DEPOSITS OF PUBLIC FUNDS.

Requires the Director of Finance to consider, before the selection of a depository for the state treasury, the beneficial effects to the State of using depositories within the State, including but not limited to lending at favorable terms for the creation of certain affordable housing units. Effective 7/1/2050.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO LIMITED-PROFIT HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS.

Establishes an organizational, tax, and regulatory framework for limited-profit housing associations. Establishes the Limited-Profit Housing Council within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to oversee limited-profit housing associations. Requires reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO INCLUSIONARY ZONING.

Prohibits any law, ordinance, or rule from imposing an inclusionary zoning requirement on housing offered exclusively for sale or rent in perpetuity to buyers or renters who are residents of the State, are owner-occupants or renters, and do not own any other real property. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Authorizes a county to reduce the aggregate zoned residential capacity within the county only if the county offsets that reduction by increasing zoned residential capacity elsewhere in the county, such that there is no net loss in residential capacity in the county. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO A DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING.

Establishes the Department of Housing. Places the Hawaii Community Development Authority, Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, and Hawaii Public Housing Authority within the Department of Housing for administrative purposes. Replaces the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism with the Director of Housing on the Hawaii Community Development Authority. Effective 7/1/2050.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAII HOUSING FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

Repeals requirement that the Chairperson of Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation Board of Directors be a public member. Repeals the prohibition on certain members of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation Board of Directors from serving as Chairperson. Effective 3/22/2075. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO BLUE CARBON.

Requires the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to establish a Statewide Blue Carbon Strategy. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO STUDENT ACCESS TO TELEHEALTH SERVICES.

Requires the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, to develop and distribute to each public middle and high school in the State guidelines for the establishment and operation of safe spaces for students to access telehealth services on school property during normal school hours. Requires each public middle and high school to establish and maintain a safe space for students according to the guidelines.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION.

Requires the Land Use Commission to reclassify lands that are designated for urban growth under a county general plan or county development plan as being in the urban district at the request of the county.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.

Establishes as a deceptive trade practice the advertising, displaying, or offering of a price for goods or services that does not include all mandatory fees or charges, with certain exceptions.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO RESIDENTIAL LEASEHOLDS.

Exempts state and county lands leased after July 1, 2026, for an initial period of not less than 99 years from chapters 516 and 516D, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO DEPOSITS OF PUBLIC FUNDS.

Requires the Director of Finance to consider, before the selection of a depository for the state treasury, the beneficial effects to the State of using depositories within the State, including but not limited to lending at favorable terms for the creation of certain affordable housing units. Effective 1/1/2050. (SD1)

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Increases required public school instructional hours beginning in the 2027-2028 school year.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO TOURISM.

Replaces the Hawaii Tourism Authority with the Corporation for the Stewardship of Hawaii Tourism, a nonprofit entity to guide Hawaii's visitor economy in collaboration with public, private, nonprofit, and community stakeholders in achieving beneficial outcomes from tourism based on the principles of destination stewardship and regenerative tourism.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO INDUSTRIAL HEMP.

Establishes an Industrial Hemp Program in the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity that includes education and support for non-cannabinoid industrial hemp cultivation and use. Establishes the Industrial Hemp Program Advisory Board to develop a strategic plan to establish and expand the processing infrastructure and commercialization of industrial hemp. Requires the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience to support research and development focused on local adaptation, sustainability, and economic development goals. Requires DAB to promote partnerships with Native Hawaiian practitioners, cooperatives, and aina-based programs. Adopts state building codes for hemp-based materials, including hempcrete. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.

By 1/1/2027, requires all law enforcement agencies in the State to maintain a policy on the visible identification of law enforcement officers. Requires law enforcement agencies to maintain confidential, accurate records documenting each officer's adherence to the agency's visible identification policy. Prohibits state and county law enforcement agencies from assisting any law enforcement operation conducted by a federal law enforcement agency that fails or refuses to maintain a policy on the visible identification of law enforcement officers that meets the standards of state law. By 1/1/2027, requires state and county law enforcement agencies to maintain a policy on the minimum requirements to cooperate with a federal law enforcement agency enforcing federal immigration laws in the State.

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO RIGHT-OF-ENTRY PERMITS.

Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources establish, maintain, and update a public database of each right-of-entry area eligible for a right-of-entry permit. Requires DLNR to develop and publish on its website criteria for the addition of a right-of-entry area to the public database or the removal of a right-of-entry area from the public database. Requires DLNR to notify the public and seek public input before the addition of a right-of-entry area to the public database or the removal of a right-of-entry area from the public database. Authorizes DLNR to remove right-of-entry area from the database without advance public notice in the case of an emergency. Requires DLNR to establish and maintain a public changelog documenting each addition to, or removal from, the public database. Requires DLNR to notify a permittee whose access to a right-of-entry area has been revoked before the date of permissible use. Requires DLNR to establish an administrative hearing and review process. Allows permittees whose access has been revoked to seek reimbursement. Requires DLNR to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and Hawaii Film Office. Requires DLNR to submit an annual report to the Legislature. Requires DLNR to revise the terms and conditions of its Wiki Permits service. Requires DLNR to ensure that all Wiki Permits forms, digital interfaces, and permit workflows are consistent. Appropriates funds.

III RichardsDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to quarantine any business or other area that is known or reasonably suspected to be infested or infected with any pest. Authorizes the Department to establish interim rules governing the transportation of any material into and within the State known to harbor or transport a high-impact invasive species or pest. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

III RichardsDemocrat