Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO DEFERRED RETIREMENT FOR POLICE.

Establishes a deferred retirement option program for police officers.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO MIDWIVES.

Establishes a licensing scheme for licensed certified midwives and licensed certified professional midwives, to be overseen by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Re-establishes the home birth task force to provide recommendations on issues related to home births. Dissolves the task force on 6/30/2026. Requires reports to the Legislature.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO ISLAND BURIAL COUNCILS.

Decreases the size of the Island Burial Councils from 9 to 7 members. Removes the requirement for the councils to include members having development and large property owner interests.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO ETHICS ADMINISTRATIVE FINES.

Establishes uniform provisions for the assessment of administrative penalties under the State Ethics Code and Lobbyist Law.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO FIREWORKS.

Amends the definition of "cultural". Prohibits the use of consumer fireworks except for cultural use by permit. Repeals the wording of section 132D-3(1), HRS, that generally allows the use of consumer fireworks without a permit on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and the Fourth of July. Makes it unlawful to offer, display for sale, sell, or furnish consumer fireworks to any person except for cultural use by permit. Prohibits the sale of fireworks to a person more than 5 calendar days before a permitted cultural use. Imposes a fee of $25 per permit for the purchase and cultural use of consumer fireworks. Imposes a statewide limitation on consumer fireworks, except by permit for cultural use.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

Amends the sunset date of Act 83, Session Laws of Hawaii 2012, to repeal section 46-19.8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, on June 29, 2025.

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Exempts certain state-financed housing developments from the requirement to obtain approval from the applicable county council. Authorizes a county planning director to reject certain permit applications due to a lack of infrastructure. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Luke A. EvslinDemocrat

RELATING TO THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.

Establishes the Housing Efficiency and Innovation Subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund. Specifies permissible uses of funding and priorities. Authorizes the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to transfer funds between the Housing Efficiency and Innovation Subaccount and the Rental Housing Revolving Fund without legislative approval. Appropriates funds. Takes effect 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Luke A. EvslinDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Establishes a working group to revise the State's Qualified Allocation Plan, the prioritization of the Rental Housing Revolving Fund, and the terms of loans made from the RHRF. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Luke A. EvslinDemocrat

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Decreases the time period for the legislative body of a county to approve, approve with modification, or disapprove housing developments exempt from certain requirements pursuant to section 201H-38, HRS, from forty-five days to thirty days.

Luke A. EvslinDemocrat

RELATING TO CONTRACTORS.

Repeals the leasing restriction on owner-builders who obtain an owner-builder exemption to act as their own contractor and who build or improve residential or farm buildings or structures on property they own or lease and do not offer the buildings or structures for sale. Requires an owner or lessee to provide signed written notice that the structure for lease or sublease was built or improved by an individual who is not a licensed contractor. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Luke A. EvslinDemocrat

RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION.

Clarifies the process for selecting a certified provider of rehabilitation services. Requires providers to automatically approve vocational rehabilitation services for an injured employee if those services will likely be required for suitable gainful employment. Requires providers to file an employee's vocational plan no later than ninety days after submitting an initial evaluation report, with certain exceptions. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Scot Z. MatayoshiDemocrat

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. Reduces the amount the Department of Education is authorized to charge for school meals to all students enrolled in department schools to no more than an unspecified portion of the cost of preparing the meals. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Scot Z. MatayoshiDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

Establishes a paid family leave program for state and county employees. Authorizes a qualifying employee to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave for the birth or placement of a child or to care for a family member who has a serious health condition. Requires the employee to agree to subsequently work for the employer for at least 12 weeks upon return to service except under certain conditions. Effective 1/1/2026.

Scot Z. MatayoshiDemocrat

RELATING TO THE STABILIZATION OF PROPERTY INSURANCE.

Expands the powers of the Hawaii Property Insurance Association and reactivates the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund to help to stabilize the property insurance market in the State. Requires the Insurance Commissioner to conduct a study. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Scot Z. MatayoshiDemocrat

RELATING TO FARM TO FAMILIES.

Establishes the Hawaii Farm to Families Program to alleviate food shortages in the State. Requires reports to the Legislature before the Regular Sessions of 2026 and 2027. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO EARLY LEARNING.

Appropriates funds to hire teachers and teacher assistants and for equipment and services for public preschools. Takes effect 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.

Establishes the Mixed-Income Subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to prioritize development of workforce rental and for-sale housing projects for qualified residents. Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to adopt administrative rules. Appropriates moneys. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD2)

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to submit an annual report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for reentry services to connect offenders with community-based services. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Nadine K. NakamuraDemocrat

RELATING TO DOULAS.

Requires any person providing doula services for compensation or representing or advertising themselves as a certified doula to register with the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Establishes certain rights for certified doulas, including being present during delivery and in any recovery rooms, if requested by the client. Requires the Director to maintain a link to the registry on the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' website. Effective 1/1/2026.

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO ELECTRIC BICYCLES.

Establishes additional regulations for the registration and use of electric bicycles. Amends the definition of electric bicycles subject to various state laws and classifies electric bicycles by top assisted speed. Defines "electric micro mobility device" and requires the same regulations as electric foot scooters to apply to electric micro mobility devices. Prohibits anyone under fifteen from operating a class 3 electric bicycle. Increasing the age for those required to wear a helmet when operating a bicycle. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

LA CHICA

RELATING TO ENTERPRISE ZONES.

Amends the definition of "eligible business activity" for enterprise zone program purposes to include retail sales of tangible personal property manufactured and sold in the enterprise zone that is to be used or consumed by the purchaser and not for resale, the processing of value-added agricultural products grown within an enterprise zone, and the provision of professional services by health care professionals in health care related sectors.

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO OUT-OF-STATE OFFICES.

Requires, and appropriates funds for, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to establish an out-of-state office in the Republic of the Philippines. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO DUE PROCESS PROTECTIONS.

Establishes the Due Process in Immigration Proceedings Program within the Judiciary to provide legal representation to individuals in immigration-related proceedings. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Requires the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board to establish an international teacher license for certain visa holders and the requirements to obtain the international teacher license. Requires a report to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO IMMIGRATION.

Prohibits certain covered educational entities and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation facilities from collecting information regarding citizenship or immigration status or allowing officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter certain facilities, except under specific circumstances.

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT HILO.

Appropriates funds for one retention coordinator position, one internship coordinator position, and student enrollment management initiatives at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Andrew Takuya GarrettDemocrat

RELATING TO CRIMES AGAINST SENIORS.

Removes the requirement that a perpetrator of certain crimes knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a person sixty years of age or older.

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

RELATING TO LAND.

Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to exercise its power of eminent domain to acquire certain parcels. Appropriates funds for the acquisition of those parcels.

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

RELATING TO A STATE HOTEL.

Requires the Hawaii Tourism Authority and School of Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawaii at Manoa to jointly perform a study regarding the design, construction or purchase, and operations and management of a state hotel. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

RELATED TO TOURISM.

Amends the types of occurrences for which the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board of Directors may request the Governor to declare a tourism emergency. Reduces the minimum balance to be maintained in the Tourism Emergency Special Fund through an allocation of transient accommodations tax revenues.

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

RELATING TO TECHNOLOGY ENABLEMENT.

Appropriates funds to the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation to assist small businesses, including those related to the tourism sector, with technology enablement. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Adrian K. TamDemocrat

RELATING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

Requires the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation to prioritize funding for certain Hawaii-based businesses. Appropriates funds to assist in the development and promotion of Hawaii-manufactured products through the INNOVATE Hawaii program. Requires reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM.

Transfers the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the King Kamehameha Celebration Commission from the Department of Accounting and General Services to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Transfers the authority held by the Comptroller over the Works of Art Special Fund to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Appropriates funds for positions within the Administrative Services Office of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Greggor IlaganDemocrat

RELATING TO SCHOOL IMPACT FEES.

Places oversight of the School Impact Fee Program under the School Facilities Authority Board. Directs the School Facilities Authority Board to carry out the processes and procedures conducted by the Board of Education to dissolve a school impact district upon the transfer of oversight of the School Impact Fee Program. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

LA CHICA

RELATING TO PERMITS.

Establishes an exemption from applicable county permit requirements for repetitive construction projects for facilities under the control of any state department or agency, under certain conditions. Clarifies that, except for projects in special flood hazard areas, contracts for the construction, renovation, or repair of facilities under the control of the Department of Education, University of Hawaii, or School Facilities Authority shall be exempt from county permitting requirements that related off-site improvements be made by the contracting government agency as a condition to the issuance of any permit. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

LA CHICA

RELATING TO RECYCLING.

Establishes a lithium-ion battery recycling working group within the Department of Health to assess recycling methods for small and medium format lithium-ion batteries. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

LA CHICA

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.

LA CHICA

RELATING TO TRAFFIC CITATIONS.

Establishes that intentional destruction or damage to a traffic camera is a class C felony. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

LA CHICA

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Establishes a two-year pilot program that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, requires the Department of Education to provide free school lunch to all students enrolled at a department school. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Repeals on 6/30/2027.

LA CHICA

RELATING TO CONDOMINIUMS.

Requires condominium associations to repair defective conditions of common elements that constitute health or safety violations. Allows unit owners to make the repairs at the association's expense.

LA CHICA

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Requires and appropriates moneys for the Public Utilities Commission to establish standards requiring each electric utility company to remove from the rate base a commensurate amount of costs related to fossil fuel resources when adding new or converted renewable electrical energy and renewable energy resources.

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Specifies that adjustments required to compensate for certain unavoidable increases in financing costs, if proven by a producer of nonfossil fuel generated electricity by clear and convincing evidence, are mechanisms for reasonable and appropriate incremental adjustments that the Public Utilities Commission may include in the rate payable to the producer. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat

RELATING TO ELECTRIC UTILITIES.

Part I: Requires the Public Utilities Commission to impose certain conditions of approval on any order approving, in whole or in part, an application for the proposed acquisition, merger, or consolidation of an electric utility company by an acquiring entity. Establishes a process to ensure that when an electric utility is subject to an application for a proposed acquisition, merger, or consolidation by a potential acquiring entity that is an investor-owned utility and seeks approval of the application from the Public Utilities Commission, it must demonstrate that it solicited bids from potential acquiring entities that operate under a non-investor-owned utility ownership model. Requires the electric utility to submit those acceptable bids concurrently with an application by a potential acquiring entity that is an investor-owned utility. Part II: Authorizes the issuance of reimbursable GO bonds for acquiring Hawaiian Electric Industries and converting it to a publicly owned utility. Authorizes the establishment of a non-bypassable electric utility conversion charge, to be deposited into the new Electric Utility Conversion Special Fund. Appropriates Funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish a streamlined grid-ready homes interconnection process. Authorizes the use of the Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge for cost recovery of certain expenses of the Hawaii electricity reliability administrator associated with the grid-ready homes interconnection process. Requires report to the Legislature on the grid-ready homes interconnection process.

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE GAS TARIFF.

Requires gas utilities to file a proposed initial renewable gas tariff or tariffs with the Public Utilities Commission by August 31, 2025. Requires the Public Utilities Commission to approve or modify a renewable gas tariff within six months of receiving a proposed renewable gas tariff. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat

RELATING TO WATER.

Defines "isolated wetlands" and "wetlands". Clarifies the definition of "state waters" to include wetlands and isolated wetlands. Requires the Director of Health to determine all wetlands in the State, including whether a wetland is an isolated wetland or is included in the waters of the United States. Prohibit persons from discharging any water pollutant into or at any location that enters state waters.

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat

RELATING TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.

Requires the design of all new state building construction where parking is to be included to provide that a number of the parking stalls, as determined by the Department of Accounting and General Services, shall be electric vehicle charger-ready. Requires the Hawaii State Energy Office, in consultation with the Department of Accounting and General Services and Department of Transportation, to conduct a survey and identify certain high-priority state facilities. Establishes a goal of the State to retrofit state facilities to be electric vehicle charger-ready. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD2)

Nicole E. LowenDemocrat