Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO HEALTH.

Prohibits the imposition of cost-sharing requirements for certain diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations.

Lauren MatsumotoRepublican

RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EVALUATIONS.

Establishes the Board of Education Internal Audit Office to conduct program and fiscal evaluations of the Department of Education's key strategic initiatives to identify program improvements and provide other benefits. Requires the Board of Education to establish a standing committee with a scope that includes audit-related responsibilities. Appropriates moneys.

Donna Mercado KimDemocrat

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Requires the Department of Taxation to accept, evaluate and make determinations on offers in compromise under certain conditions, including for offers requiring the Governor's approval. Amends the income tax and general excise tax statute of limitation periods for collection or commencement of proceedings to six years, except in cases of false or fraudulent returns, or intent to evade tax. Effective 1/1/2027.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO WATER.

Subjects a person who controls, operates, or manages plants or facilities for conveying, distributing, and transmitting water for irrigation and other purposes for public use to regulation by the Public Utilities Commission.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO FIRE RISK MITIGATION.

Establishes the Fire Risk Management and Safety Documentation Pilot Program to promote condominium fire safety. Establishes the Fire Risk Management and Safety Documentation Working Group to oversee the Fire Risk Management and Safety Documentation Pilot Program. Requires the Department of Law Enforcement to provide administrative support to the Fire Risk Mitigation and Safety Documentation Working Group. Appropriates funds.

Carol FukunagaDemocrat

RELATING TO ENCAMPMENTS.

Prohibits the erection, placement, construction, or maintenance of an encampment within one hundred feet from the property line of a pre-K-12 public or private school or school facility on public or private property.

Samantha DeCorteRepublican

RELATING TO CARE HOMES.

Requires and appropriates funds for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to establish a Central Oahu Care Home Community Resilience Pilot Program to assist eligible care home facilities to implement structural and operational resilience improvements. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO REGIONAL AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION.

Establishes the Regional Agricultural Feasibility and Food Systems Production Studies Working Group within the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to provide coordinated, region-specific agricultural production and crop feasibility analysis across the State. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Repeals 6/30/2028.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM-EDUCATION PROGRAM.

Appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience and the Department of Health to continue their implementation of the Hawaii Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education Program.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE.

Establishes a Health Care for All Hawaii Board to design and recommend the Health Care for All Hawaii plan that is publicly funded and available to every resident of the State. Establishes values and principles for the board in developing its plan, designates the scope of the plan, requires the board to establish an advisory committee to provide consumer perspective input, and requires the board to submit the plan to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Repeals 6/30/2027.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO GOVERNMENT ACTIONS.

Requires any law enforcement officer acting under color of law in a public space or on state or county property to remain visibly identifiable. Prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings while performing their duties, with certain exceptions. Requires law enforcement officers to wear apparel and use vehicles that bear conspicuous markings of the applicable law enforcement agency. Requires all civil law enforcement activity that involves participation by state or county law enforcement officers or occurs on state or county property to be conducted in a manner that adheres to specified standards. Deems certain locations to be service-first spaces and requires them to have clear, narrowly tailored procedures with respect to civil immigration actions. Requires all state and county agencies to adopt policies that limit the collection, retention, and sharing of immigration-related personal data. Requires all interagency data exchanges between state agencies, county agencies, or state and county agencies to operate under auditable agreements. Requires all state and county agencies to report annually to the Legislature and Governor regarding the civil-immigration-related requests. Requires every state and county agency to adopt a policy that prohibits immigration-based harassment or threats, including unwarranted verification of an individual's immigration status, with respect to employment or the provision of services to the public. Requires all state and county law enforcement officers to monitor civil immigration enforcement activity by activating body cameras when present in a situation in which United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are interacting with a member of the general public.

Brandon J.C. ElefanteDemocrat

RELATING TO THE COSMETOLOGY LICENSURE COMPACT.

Authorizes the Governor to enter into a Cosmetology Licensure Compact on behalf of the State to provide a streamlined process that allows cosmetologists to obtain a multistate license enabling them to practice cosmetology in another state without obtaining a separate license under the laws of that state. Requires the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to adopt rules to implement and administer the Compact.

Donna Mercado KimDemocrat

RELATING TO THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY.

Requires the Advisory Board of Directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority to be composed of seven, rather than twelve, members. Requires the Governor to appoint members to the Advisory Board from lists provided by certain organizations representing the tourism industry.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE NINTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT.

Appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the 9th senatorial district.

Stanley ChangDemocrat

RELATING TO CASINO GAMING.

Authorizes limited casino gaming in the State at a single casino facility located in the Stadium Development District. Establishes the Hawaii Gaming Control Commission. Authorizes the Commission to adopt rules. Authorizes the Commission to issue one 20-year casino license to one licensee for the development and operation of the casino facility. Establishes application procedures and requirements for the casino license, supplier's license, and occupational license. Allows the Commission to establish procedures for the issuance of a liquor license for the casino licensee. Requires annual reports to the Governor and Legislature. Establishes the Wagering Tax and the disposition of revenues therefrom, including allocations to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Department of Education. Establishes the State Gaming Fund. Requires the Commission to establish a Compulsive Gamblers Program. Requires the Auditor to perform periodic audits of the Commission. Appropriates funds.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO VOTER REGISTRATION.

Ensures Department of Education and charter school students receive nonpartisan information, before reaching voting age, on how to properly preregister or register to vote.

Julie Reyes OdaRepublican

RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

Establishes the Hawaii Employer-led Sector Partnerships Special Fund to be administered and expended by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to support employer‑led, demand-driven sector partnerships in the State. Appropriates funds.

Lynn DeCoiteDemocrat

RELATING TO HOSTING PLATFORMS.

Requires hosting platforms that earn service fees for providing booking services for transient accommodations to register with the Department of Taxation as tax collection agents and report, collect, and remit general excise and transient accommodations taxes on behalf of operators.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO THE PRESCHOOL OPEN DOORS PROGRAM.

Clarifies that the Preschool Open Doors Program is open to all children, including children in foster care, who meet the eligibility requirements of the program.

Carol FukunagaDemocrat

RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY.

Appropriates funds to the judiciary for services contracted with community-based organizations that deliver essential services, streamline judicial processes, and support the judiciary's capacity to effectively meet the needs of vulnerable households.

Daisy HartsfieldDemocrat

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE THIRTEENTH REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT.

Appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the thirteenth representative district.

Mahina PoepoeDemocrat

RELATING TO DETACHABLE AMMUNITION MAGAZINES.

Prohibits the use of a detachable ammunition magazine with over a fifty-round capacity with any firearm other than a pistol with exceptions.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE MARKET OVERSIGHT.

Establishes a state oversight framework for material health care mergers, acquisitions, and other consolidation transactions. Requires advance notice and public interest review by the State Health Planning and Development Agency. Requires legislative approval, by concurrent resolution, of certain vertically integrated health care transactions that meet specified market share and pricing impact thresholds.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO THEFT.

Clarifies that the value of property or services is a grading factor for theft offenses that does not require proof of a culpable mental state. Increases theft threshold amounts.

Karl RhoadsDemocrat

RELATING TO SOLID WASTE.

Requires municipal solid waste combustor ash to be disposed of only in a double-lined landfill, except for in Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill cells constructed and in use by 12/31/2025. Beginning 12/31/2026, prohibits the reuse of municipal solid waste incinerator ash for use as daily landfill cover material, roadbuilding, fill, or construction material.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO THE MINIMUM WAGE.

Amends the minimum monthly guaranteed compensation an individual must earn to be exempt from certain wage and hour requirements. Requires the minimum wage to increase to $18.00 per hour beginning 1/1/2027, instead of 1/1/2028. Increases the minimum wage on 1/1/2028, 1/1/2029, and 1/1/2030. Prohibits tipped employees from being paid less than the minimum wage.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE HOUSING.

Requires state agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and Agribusiness Development Corporation, that administer agricultural leases, licenses, development programs, or procurement involving agricultural products to award points or preferences to agricultural projects incorporating agricultural workforce housing. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Cory M. ChunDemocrat

RELATING TO TAX INCREMENT BONDS.

Conforms county debt limit statements law to permit counties to exclude tax increment bonds from the debt limit of the counties if a constitutional amendment authorizing the use of tax increment bonds and excluding tax increment bonds from determinations of the counties' funded debt is ratified.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

Requires the Governor to request in the executive budget or supplemental budget that an amount of general funds that approximates the additional revenue generated by assessing the Transient Accommodations Tax on gross rental proceeds derived from cruise fares be expended for maritime purposes and uses, including addressing maritime environmental issues, as determined by the Department of Transportation, rather than be expended as part of the green fee. Amends the definition of "cruise fares" with respect to the Transient Accommodations Tax.

Lorraine R. InouyeDemocrat

RELATING TO CIVIL SERVICE EXEMPT POSITIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

Exempts certain positions within the State Historic Preservation Division and Commission on Water Resource Management within the Department of Land and Natural Resources from the state civil service law.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO ENCAMPMENTS.

Prohibits the erection, placement, construction, or maintenance of an encampment within one hundred feet from a state highway right-of-way.

Samantha DeCorteRepublican

RELATING TO MEDICAL BILLING.

Establishes the Office of Payment Monitoring within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to monitor and enforce prompt payment of clean claims for reimbursement from health or sickness insurers. Appropriates moneys.

Terez AmatoDemocrat

RELATING TO CESSPOOLS.

Repeals the mandated upgrade, conversion, or sewer connection of all the cesspools in the State before 2050.

Christopher L. MuraokaRepublican

RELATING TO THE HAWAII HOMES FOR HAWAII FAMILIES ACT.

Prohibits corporate owners from renting a single-family home to a residential tenant when the owner has a property interest in five or more such properties. Prohibits individual owners from renting a single-family home to a residential tenant when the owner has a property interest in seven or more such properties. Allows for exemptions and enforcement.

Joe GedeonRepublican

RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FIFTIETH REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT.

Appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the fiftieth representative district.

Mike LeeDemocrat

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

Appropriates funds for capital improvement projects in the second representative district.

Sue L. Keohokapu-Lee LoyDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Establishes the Hawaii Agricultural Transportation Assistance Program, to consist of a reimbursement program for geographically disadvantaged farmers and livestock producers to mitigate the high costs of transportation for agricultural products, inputs, and supplies, and a grant program to assist small-scale farmers, ranchers, food hubs, and agricultural producers in rural or underserved areas with transportation costs directly related to the production and distribution of agricultural commodities. Establishes the Hawaii Agricultural Transportation Assistance Special Fund. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Cory M. ChunDemocrat

RELATING TO TIP CREDIT.

Beginning 1/1/2027, increases the tip credit amount to equal twenty-five per cent of the minimum wage. Requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to annually calculate the adjusted tip credit amount.

Joe GedeonRepublican

RELATING TO MILITARY BENEFITS.

Repeals portions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes that confer special benefits, protections, privileges, or entitlements to members of the United States armed forces in the State in the event that the United States government or any agency or entity of the United States government commences condemnation proceedings of any land or interest in land owned or held by the State.

Kim Coco IwamotoDemocrat

PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO REQUIRE RANKED-CHOICE VOTING IN ELECTIONS AND ELIMINATE PRIMARY ELECTIONS.

Amends the Hawaii State Constitution to require the use of ranked-choice voting in all elections and eliminate primary elections.

Kim Coco IwamotoDemocrat

RELATING TO TEACHER TO STUDENT RATIOS.

Requires the Board of Education and collective bargaining units to calculate student-to-teacher ratios for class sizes according to a prescribed method to promote quality education and positive student-teacher interactions. Informs parents if changes to class sizes are needed.

Julie Reyes OdaRepublican

RELATING TO BIOSECURITY.

Requires the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to establish rules to enforce the Akamai Arrival Program. Requires DAB to strengthen enforcement of plant and non-domestic animal quarantine and microorganism importations.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO TRUSTS.

Establishes a fifty-year duration limit for new private, noncharitable trusts. Requires large private trusts to file annual reports with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Imposes limitations and reporting requirements on permitted transfers in trusts.

Amy A. PerrusoDemocrat

RELATING TO PROPERTY FORFEITURE.

Authorizes the forfeiture of real property when used to commit promoting gambling in the first or second degree regardless of whether it was committed without the knowledge and consent of the owner. Authorizes the forfeiture of real property under the gambling forfeiture section.

Christopher L. MuraokaRepublican

RELATING TO MARINE LIFE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS.

Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources to close all or portions of any marine life conservation district for various periods of time and to adopt rules for the regulation of commercial activity within a marine life conservation district.

Sean QuinlanDemocrat

RELATING TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENTS.

Requires the Board of Education to update content and performance standards to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test.

Ronald D. KouchiDemocrat

RELATING TO DISCRIMINATION.

Prohibits discrimination based on a person's immigration status.

Della Au BelattiDemocrat