KA ‘AHA KENEKOA
THE THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2026
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Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair |
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Senator Sharon Y. Moriwaki, Vice Chair |
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Senator Karl Rhoads, Chair |
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Senator Mike Gabbard, Vice Chair |
AMENDED NOTICE OF DECISION MAKING
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DATE: |
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 |
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TIME: |
10:35 AM |
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PLACE: |
Conference Room 211 & Videoconference State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street |
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TIMESLOT: |
WAM |
PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRANCE TO THE STATE CAPITOL
BUILDING HOURS: 7AM TO 5PM, MONDAY - FRIDAY
A live stream of all Senate Standing Committee meetings will be available on the Senate YouTube Channel.
A M E N D E D A G E N D A
PLEASE NOTE: The only change to this agenda is the order in which the bills will be considered at the meeting.
The following measure(s) were previously heard in their respective subject matter committees:
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RELATING TO THE PSYCHOLOGY INTERJURISDICTIONAL COMPACT. Adopts the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact to regulate the practice of telepsychology and temporary in-person, face-to-face practice of psychology by psychologists across state boundaries in the performance of their psychological practice. Requires the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to adopt rules to implement and administer the Compact. Implementation effective January 1, 2028. Effective 1/30/2050. (SD1)
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HHS/CPN, WAM/JDC |
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RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. Repeals the prohibition placed on certain employees exempt from Civil Service Law from grieving a suspension or discharge. Allows any employee who is a member of an appropriate bargaining unit to grieve any disciplinary action. Effective 1/1/2077. (SD1)
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LBT, WAM/JDC |
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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)
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AEN/EDU/HWN, WAM/JDC |
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RELATING TO PROCUREMENT. Ensures that awarded contracts are supported by sufficient appropriations by requiring that the contract amount does not exceed 10% of the amount of the appropriation or balance of an appropriation that is available to cover the cost of the contract. Requires a contract that exceeds the 10% threshold to be approved by the Chief Procurement Officer. Limits the application of criminal penalties under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code to egregious violations of the Code and any rules adopted thereunder. Establishes positions within the State Procurement Office. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2525. (SD1)
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GVO, WAM/JDC |
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RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. Requires the Department of Transportation to assess a per passenger head fee against cruise ships docking in the State's commercial harbors in addition to existing port user fees. Establishes the Cruise Ship Special Fund. Repeals existing law imposing the Transient Accommodations Tax on cruise ships, effective retroactive to 1/1/2026. (SD1)
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TRS/EDT, WAM/JDC |
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RELATING TO DIGITAL ASSET CHARTERS. Establishes within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Division of Financial Institutions, beginning 1/1/2027, a digital asset charter program for licensing, regulating, and overseeing digital asset companies and digital asset business activities. Authorizes companies that participated in the Hawaii Digital Currency Innovation Lab to temporarily continue digital asset business activities without a charter in certain circumstances. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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CPN/LBT, WAM/JDC |
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RELATING TO INSURANCE FRAUD. Increases the scope of insurance fraud and certain offenses. Augments offenses by contractors and insurers during a declared emergency. Clarifies the penalties for the offense of insurance fraud and the capabilities and operations of the Insurance Fraud Investigations Branch, including the annual report to the Legislature and the protection of sensitive information. Adds protection for insurance fraud whistleblowers. Authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to establish a centralized database for authorized agencies to track insurance fraud data. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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CPN, WAM/JDC |
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RELATING TO WATER. Allows the Commission on Water Resource Management to retain independent counsel. Repeals the First Deputy to the Chairperson of CWRM. Establishes the Executive Director of the CWRM. Administratively attaches the CWRM to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Authorizes members of CWRM to be eligible to serve as chairperson. Requires the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Director of Health to serve as ex officio voting members who are ineligible to serve as chairperson. Adds one member to the nominating committee for CWRM, to be appointed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Authorizes entities to whom an emergency order is directed to challenge the order under certain conditions. Clarifies the notification requirements and contents of declarations of water shortages. Establishes fines. Makes conforming amendments. (SD1)
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WLA/PSM, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO STATE WATER CODE PENALTIES. Adds a minimum penalty and maximum penalty per violation of the State Water Code. Authorizes the Commission on Water Resource Management to consider each day that a violation exists or continues to exist a separate offense. Establishes factors the CWRM must consider when determining the amount of the penalty. Increases maximum fines every 5 years from 2031 to 2046. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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WLA, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO THE HAWAII EMPLOYER-UNION HEALTH BENEFITS TRUST FUND. Allows impasses and disputes relating to the amounts of State and county contributions to the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund to be resolved by arbitration. Repeals the prohibition against strikes by members of bargaining units on the issue of the amounts of State and county contributions to the Trust Fund. Effective 1/1/2077. (SD1)
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LBT, JDC/WAM |
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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. (SD1)
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HOU, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO HOSPITAL PRICE TRANSPARENCY. Requires each hospital in the State to comply with federal hospital price transparency requirements. Requires the Department of Health to monitor and enforce compliance. Establishes a process for patients to challenge debt collection actions filed by noncompliant hospitals. Requires the Department of Health to publish a list of any enforcement actions taken against noncompliant hospitals. Requires hospitals to provide patients with an easy-to-understand itemized bill statement before initiating a debt collection action against a patient. Effective 1/30/2050. (SD1)
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HHS/CPN, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO DIGITAL FINANCIAL ASSET TRANSACTION KIOSKS. Establishes limits on transactions through digital financial asset transaction kiosks. Requires operators of digital financial asset transaction kiosks to use blockchain analytics and tracing software to prevent fraud; make certain disclosures; provide receipts to customers; provide full refunds under certain circumstances; and provide live customer service and a dedicated communications line for the Attorney General, Office of Consumer Protection, Department of Law Enforcement, and county police departments. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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CPN/LBT, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO PETITIONS TO TEMPORARILY RESTRAIN AND ENJOIN HARASSMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE. Establishes a two-year Pilot Project to authorize public employers to petition for temporary restraining orders and injunctions against employment-related harassment of certain public employees. Effective 1/1/2077. Sunsets 6/30/2028. (SD1)
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LBT, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO COMPASSIONATE RELEASE. Establishes a protocol for compassionate release for certain ill or seriously debilitated incarcerated persons. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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PSM, JDC/WAM |
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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)
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AEN, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO INSURANCE. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in the name of the people of the State as parens patriae against any responsible party to recover certain costs or obtain certain relief, including costs and losses incurred by the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, or other state entities, resulting from climate attributable harm or costs for risk of future climate attributable harm. Authorizes the Hawaii Property Insurance Association and Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund, or any private insurer licensed in the State to bring a civil cause of action against a responsible party to recover its costs and losses resulting from climate attributable harm. Establishes the Climate Disaster Special Fund to collect and disperse funds collected from certain civil actions to be distributed in a certain order of priority. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
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CPN, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE. Requires hospitals with emergency departments that are licensed in the State to submit syndromic surveillance data to the Department of Health. Authorizes the Department of Health to establish by administrative rules a syndromic surveillance system under state jurisdiction that is independent of federal systems. (SD1)
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HHS, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO PREVENTIVE MEDICINE. Establishes the Hawaii Preventive Services Advisory Committee and authorizes the Department of Health to issue preventive service recommendations. Requires health insurance coverage without cost-sharing for Department of Health-recommended clinical preventive services. Provides immunity for healthcare providers' and facilities' provision of recommended clinical preventive services. (SD1)
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HHS/CPN, JDC/WAM |
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PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLE VII, SECTIONS 12 AND 13, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION. Proposes constitutional amendments to expressly provide that the Legislature may authorize political subdivisions, such as the counties, to issue housing infrastructure growth bonds, and exclude these bonds from determinations of the funded debt of the political subdivisions for specified public works, public improvements, or other actions necessary for new housing development.
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EIG, JDC/WAM |
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RELATING TO WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT. Establishes the procedure that a court of the State shall follow upon the reversal or vacation of an individual's judgment or conviction on grounds consistent with innocence, and where the charges were dismissed. Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to notify the Department of Human Services to assign a case manager to a petitioner upon the petitioner's release. Requires the State to provide medical coverage to a person for a certain duration upon the reversal or vacation of a person's judgment of conviction on grounds consistent with innocence and where the charges were dismissed. Clarifies that any benefits that a petitioner is qualified for, including any benefits under chapter 346, HRS, continue until the petitioner is gainfully employed or no longer qualifies for the benefits. Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide a state identification card to a petitioner upon release. Requires the Department of the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Legislature. Clarifies that a person whose judgment of conviction was reversed or vacated, or who was pardoned, on grounds consistent with innocence, and where the charges were dismissed, may petition for compensation. Requires the State to prove by a preponderance of evidence that the reversal or vacation of the order of conviction for a petitioner, or the pardoning of the petitioner, was inconsistent with innocence. Effective 1/1/2525. (SD1)
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GVO, JDC/WAM |
Decision making meeting only, no oral testimony will be accepted.
Persons wishing to submit written testimony may do so up to 24 hours prior to the hearing. Click here to submit written testimony.
All testimony received by the Hawai‘i Senate is posted on the Hawai‘i Legislature's website, which is accessible to the public. Please do not include private information that you do not want disclosed to the public.
For special assistance: The cable TV broadcast and/or live stream of this meeting will include closed captioning. If you need an auxiliary aid/service or other accommodation due to a disability, please call the committee clerk at the telephone number listed below or email WAMcommittee@capitol.hawaii.gov. Requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.
FOR AMENDED NOTICES: Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are underscored. If a measure is both underscored and stricken through, that measure has been deleted from the agenda.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT (808)586-6800.
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_____________________________________ Senator Karl Rhoads Chair |
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_____________________________________ Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz Chair |
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