Bills & Legislation

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Beginning 11/1/2026, requires landlords to accept comprehensive reusable tenant screening reports, if made available by an applicant, and prohibits application fees in such case.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.

Establishes a minimum time frame of twenty-four months following loss due to declared state of emergency for the policyholder to submit documentation to recover full replacement cost value of covered dwelling or structure. Allows extensions for good cause. Establishes a minimum time frame of twelve months from completion of covered dwelling or structure for the policyholder to submit documentation to recover full replacement cost value of covered personal property. Requires homeowners insurers to give timely notice to policyholders to explain the time frames and extensions. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

Requires homeowners insurance policies to permit an insured who sustains a total loss from a peril for which a state of emergency was declared to (1) apply additional living expenses benefits toward the lease of a housing unit to serve as the insured's temporary primary residence; (2) pay an advance of at least four months of additional living expenses benefits; and (3) provide additional living expenses benefits for a minimum of twenty-four months, subject to policy limits. Provides for extensions of additional living expenses benefits under certain conditions. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

Prohibits homeowners insurance policies from limiting or denying payment of replacement costs, extended replacement costs, or building code upgrade costs for a dwelling solely because the insured elects to rebuild the dwelling at a different location or purchase an already-constructed home at a different location. Allows for the combination of dwelling and other structures coverage limits to fund the rebuilding or replacement of the primary residence under certain conditions. Requires notice to policyholders.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

Requires the automatic payment of 100% of the personal property or contents coverage limit stated in an insurance policy in the event of a total loss of a dwelling caused by certain perils that occurred pursuant to a state of emergency. Prohibits an insurer from requiring the submission of an itemized inventory of damaged or destroyed personal property. Requires notice to policyholders of the right to an automatic payment.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.

Requires insurers intending to non-renew a property insurance policy to provide the insured with timely notice, factual reasons, and an opportunity to address any correctable issues.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.

Requires insurers, after a policyholder experiences a total loss, to automatically refund any unearned premium; adjust premiums for subsequent policy terms to reflect the absence of a dwelling, structure, or contents; and provide policyholders with clear notice of the coverage needed for vacant property or while rebuilding.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Establishes consumer protection requirements for the use of artificial intelligence systems in consumer interactions and consequential decisions, including disclosures, documentation, and a right to correction, appeal, and human review. Makes certain violations an unfair or deceptive act or practice. Requires risk management and impact assessments for high-risk artificial intelligence systems. Requires incident reports to the Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection and the Attorney General.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT.

Requires hotelkeepers to supply and provide annual training on the proper use and limitations of a panic button to certain workers no later than 1/1/2027. Effective 1/1/2077. (SD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO THE MAUI WILDFIRE EXPOSURE STUDY AND MAUI HEALTH REGISTRY.

Appropriates funds for the University of Hawaii to expand and sustain services provided by the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study and Maui Health Registry. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.

Repeals the $10,000 value threshold for certain prohibited contracts involving legislators or employees. Prohibits state agencies from contracting to procure or dispose of goods or services, or for construction, with businesses owned, operated, or controlled by relatives or household members of department heads or deputy directors. Requires department heads, acting department heads, and deputy directors of principal state departments to ensure compliance with the Code of Ethics provision governing contracts and provides for liability for violations. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO WATER STANDARDS.

By 1/1/2040, requires all municipal wastewater treatment facilities owned by a State or county agency to meet state R-1 water standards. Requires the Department of Health to adopt five-year benchmarks to ensure compliance with state R-1 water standards. Requires the Legislature to appropriate sufficient funds. Appropriates funds.

Angus L.K. McKelveyDemocrat

RELATING TO OAHU CORAL REEF RESTORATION.

Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Aquatic Resources to begin the Holomua Marine Initiative process no later than 7/1/2027 to address coral reef restoration on Oahu. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO FISHING.

Requires the Division of Aquatic Resources of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to begin the rulemaking process no later than 7/1/2026 to regulate or ban jug line fishing and jug rig variant fishing methods. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO THE OCEAN RECREATION SPECIAL FUND.

Authorizes the Ocean Stewardship Special Fund to be used for planning, development, designing, or implementation of beach restoration projects, including the awarding of grants to nonprofit organizations for beach and nearshore environmental cleanup.

Chris LeeDemocrat

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; provided that the marine life conservation district is located on or adjacent to the shores of Oahu. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

Authorizes the Board of Land and Natural Resources to adopt by rule any federal regulation relating to the public lands of the State as it existed on 1/1/2025 that it deems is in the public interest.

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO A HAWAII CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE PLAN.

Requires the Office of Sustainable Development to establish a Hawaii Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan. Requires a report to the Legislature. Establishes positions. Appropriates funds.

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO CONSERVATION BANKING.

Authorizes the use of conservation banks for compensatory mitigation in a habitat conservation plan and associated incidental take license. Amends the membership and scope of authority for the Endangered Species Recovery Committee.

Chris LeeDemocrat

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Requires the Director of Taxation to appoint a legal, tax, or accounting professional as an Administrative Rules Officer. Authorizes the Administrative Rules Officer to appoint individuals with suitable experience as Administrative Rules Specialists.

Donna Mercado KimDemocrat

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Clarifies that public charter school teachers are eligible for incentives under the Teacher National Board Certification Incentive Program.

Donna Mercado KimDemocrat

RELATING TO STATE BUILDINGS.

Requires certain state buildings with the intent of serving a secondary purpose as an emergency shelter and designed on or after July 1, 2027, to be designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and be used as shelters in the event of an emergency. Designates the Department of Accounting and General Services as the lead agency in enforcing this requirement in consultation with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Requires the Department to adopt rules. Effective 1/1/2525. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO BUILDING CODES.

Requires all single family residences and apartment buildings built after 1/1/2027 include a safe room that can withstand winds of two hundred miles per hour or higher. Requires single‑family residences and apartment buildings built after 1/1/2027 be built to withstand Category 3 hurricanes when located in an area with winds of one hundred thirty miles per hour and a Category 5 hurricane when located in an area with winds of one hundred forty miles per hour or higher.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Establishes a nonrefundable individual income tax credit for a certain percentage of expenses paid to retrofit a residence with wind resistive devices or to purchase, install, or construct, a hurricane shelter on the taxpayer's property. Reduces the general excise tax rate on the gross proceeds or income from the sale of a concrete high-rise certified hurricane-resistant residential project or certain hurricane-resistant components of the project. Applies to taxable years beginning after 12/31/2026. Sunsets 12/31/2030. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO BIOSECURITY.

Beginning 1/1/2027, establishes mandatory handling and storage rules for commercial and residential coconut rhinoceros beetle host material to reduce the spread of CRB within infested zones and to prevent spread into non-infested zones. Establishes penalties. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

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.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

For taxable years beginning after 1/1/2027, establishes a nonrefundable income tax credit for certain agricultural investment costs incurred for agricultural activities conducted on Hawaiian home lands. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Increases the rooftop solar tax credit to forty five per cent for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025 through December 31, 2030. Establishes the Direct Solar Rebate Program to be administered by the Hawaii State Energy Office for low‑ and moderate-income households. Streamlines rooftop solar permitting and requires the counties to develop electronic application systems. Requires the Hawaii State Energy Office to enhance workforce development and coordinate with county permitting agencies. Authorizes the adoption of interim rules. Appropriates funds.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS.

Restricts commercial helicopter tour operations over sensitive areas designated by the Department of Transportation through public process. Requires the Department of Transportation to enforce restrictions through a permit process, flight tracking, noise monitoring, complaint investigation, and the issuance of a civil penalty for each violation. Requires an annual report to the Legislature by the Department of Transportation.

Mike GabbardDemocrat

RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET.

Amends the program scope of the grant authorized for Hawaii Foodbank, Inc. by Act 250, SLH 2025, pursuant to chapter 42F, HRS. Authorizes the grant moneys to be used for plans, design, and construction for a new facility.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO THE GENERAL EXCISE TAX.

Exempts from the general excise tax, the gross process or income from the sale of groceries purchased by persons 65 years old and older.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO GAMBLING.

Provides that a defendant may not assert social gambling as an affirmative defense if the gambling activity occurred at the defendant's residence and gambling activities have resulted in multiple recent documented noise complaints.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION.

Specifies that the county annual vehicle registration fee is equal to the state annual motor vehicle registration fee.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO CIVIL IDENTIFICATION.

Lowers the age to obtain a state civil identification card without a signature from a parent or guardian from eighteen years old to sixteen years old.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES.

Lowers the age of who may drive commercially within the State from nineteen to eighteen. Repeals the requirement that a person only operates category 3 vehicles to qualify to drive commercially in the State. Prohibits a person under twenty-one years of age from operating a commercial motor vehicle outside of state-approved commercial driver training programs or registered apprenticeship programs as determined by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Requires the Department of Transportation to consult with DLIR to amend its rules to allow persons under twenty-one years of age to operate a commercial motor vehicle under certain conditions. (SD1)

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

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.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.

Appropriates funds for the Department of Human Services to contract with one or more organizations specializing in domestic violence to provide training and on-site staff in Child Welfare Services Branch offices to support all aspects of screening for and addressing domestic violence within a case.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO INSURANCE.

For policies, contracts, plans, and agreements issued or renewed after 12/31/2026, requires insurers, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for standard fertility preservation services for persons undergoing medically necessary treatment that may cause iatrogenic infertility.

Rachele LamosaoDemocrat

RELATING TO SPORTS OFFICIALS.

Authorizes the Attorney General to represent sports officials in civil proceedings if the sports official has been assaulted or threatened in the course of legally discharging their sports official duties. Makes intentional bodily injury of a sports official engaged in the lawful discharge of the sports official's duties a class B felony. Clarifies that a sports official includes a school or league administrator. Clarifies that a sports official's duties cover sports events at public schools and private schools.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO NATURAL RESOURCES.

Authorizes geological subsurface characterization activities conducted by a public research institution under certain conditions. Clarifies that boreholes or test holes drilled for the purposes of geological subsurface characterization are distinct from water well exploration and geothermal or mineral exploration. Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, to designate the Hawaii Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center of the University of Hawaii, or a successor entity, as the repository for data collected from any geological subsurface characterization activity. Requires the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to designate a repository or be the repository for any scientific data collected from any geological subsurface characterization activity on lands it holds in trust. Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to amend its exemption list to specify that certain geological subsurface characterization activities shall be exempt from the environmental review process or shall only require an exemption notice. Requires the University of Hawaii to amend its exemption list to specify that certain geological subsurface characterization activities shall be exempt from the environmental review process or shall only require an exemption notice. Requires the Department of Health to amend its rules related to hazardous waste and hazardous waste management for consistency with federal regulations to specify that certain waste products generated by geological subsurface characterization activity are exempt from hazardous waste management requirements. Requires that the first site where a borehole or test hole is drilled shall be on lands owned by DHHL. Establishes the Hawaii Groundwater and Geothermal Resources Center within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology of UH Manoa. Appropriates funds.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Establishes certain standards for the use of portable solar generation devices and provides certain exemptions from net energy metering and interconnection requirements for devices that meet these standards. Prohibits electric utility companies from requiring customers using portable solar generation devices to obtain approval from the utility, pay any fee or charge, or install additional controls or equipment. Limits the installation of portable solar generation devices to condominiums. Requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish and maintain an online system for registration of portable solar generation devices. Clarifies that any person who owns, controls, operates, or manages a portable solar generation device that is located on the person's property does not qualify as a regulated public utility. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY.

Includes the Chief Energy Officer of the Hawaii State Energy Office as a member of the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. Ensures that the State's zero emissions clean economy aspirational target encourages both local and global sequestration. Requires each state agency to review the impacts of its internal plans as they relate to the purpose and goals of the Commission. Requires HSEO to submit summary reports to the Governor and Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

Beginning 1/1/2027, requires each county to implement fare-free access to its public transportation systems. Establishes the Fare-Free Public Transportation Tax and Dividend Special Fund. Increases the Environmental Response, Energy, and Food Security Tax on petroleum products to fund fare-free public transportation.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO ENERGY.

Increases the Environmental Response, Energy, and Food Security Tax and the amount collected from the tax that is deposited into the Electric Vehicle Charging System Subaccount. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO TOURISM.

Establishes the Tourism Liaison Officer position within the Office of the Governor. Amends the duties of the Hawaii Tourism Authority to focus on marketing and branding, rather than destination management and regenerative tourism. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO PERMITTING.

Requires and appropriates funds for the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, in collaboration with a county selected by the Department, to develop an artificial intelligence-assisted pre-compliance intake pilot platform, subject to a matching funds requirement for the county. Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to develop a policy or metric to measure the success of the pilot platform. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO PERMITTING.

Implements certain recommendations of the SPEED Task Force. Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to develop a permitting workforce pipeline in partnership with the University of Hawaii and community colleges and coordinate with state and county permitting agencies on certain tasks related to classification levels, salary and benefits, hiring, and responsibilities of employees. Appropriates funds.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat

RELATING TO THE STATE BUILDING CODE COUNCIL.

Implements certain recommendations of the SPEED Task Force. Requires the State Building Code Council to provide annual training to state and county permitting agency employees. Appropriates funds for the training, subject to a matching funds requirement from the counties.

Glenn WakaiDemocrat