HB2469 SD1

SECTION 1. (a) The legislature notes that House Concurrent Resolution No. 138, H.D. 1, S.D.1 (2024) (H.C.R. No. 138) requested the legislative reference bureau (bureau) to conduct a study of "a continuous legislature, extending the regular session, and adding additional recess days" to the regular session. In addition, H.C.R. No. 138 requested that the bureau:

(1) Discuss the pros and cons of a continuous legislative session, extending the legislative session, and adding additional recess days;

(2) Focus on what a continuous legislative calendar, extended legislative calendar, and a legislative calendar day [sic] with additional recess days for the State may look like, including bill and budget deadlines; and

(3) Examine salary needs for full-time legislators and staff.

(b) The legislature recognizes that the bureau has conducted and completed the requested study and submitted its report, "Sine Die Another Day: Should Hawaii's Legislative Sessions Be Longer?", to the legislature. In conducting the study, the bureau:

(1) Reviewed applicable state constitutional and statutory provisions and legislative rules impacting legislative sessions and the State's typical regular session calendar to establish a contextual basis for requirements and limitations that have shaped the current regular session framework and duration;

(2) Solicited information regarding ways in which a lengthened or continuous regular session could affect costs and operations of those entities most likely to be directly affected by a longer regular session;

(3) Examined the relevant legal provisions and legislative calendars of California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which have significantly longer regular sessions than Hawaii, and of the councils of Hawaii's four counties, which meet year‑round;

(4) Explored certain legal and practical limitations to consider when contemplating a lengthened or continuous regular session;

(5) Provided mock-up legislative calendars illustrating hypothetical longer regular sessions that utilize additional recess days for 2026, an election year, and 2027, a non-election year; and

(6) Discussed other potential impacts and factors to consider with respect to a lengthened or continuous regular session, including a review of legislator and staff compensation.

(1) The duration of Hawaii's annual regular session appears to generally fall within the same timeframe as regular sessions in a majority of other states. Also, some states that may technically have longer legislative sessions do not necessarily meet and conduct formal business throughout these entire periods;

(2) There does not seem to be a "one-size-fits-all" legislative session model that the Hawaii state legislature could easily adopt to lengthen its regular session, without making significant modifications and without necessitating significant statutory and constitutional amendments;

(3) The state constitution requires regular sessions to commence annually at 10:00 a.m. on the third Wednesday in January and to run for no more than sixty session days, and requires that each chamber provide, by rule, a bill introduction deadline;

(4) However, the legislature appears to otherwise have broad discretion to determine its regular session calendar. Regular sessions may be lengthened by adding recess days pursuant to an agreement between the house of representatives and senate, which would not require constitutional or statutory amendments;

(5) Fiscal bills, which generally comprise a supermajority of all bills introduced each year, usually have an effective date of July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, to ensure timely passage and avoid creating economic uncertainty and disruption of public services;

(6) The legislative process should continue to prioritize enactment of fiscal bills well before July 1, regardless of how long a regular session lasts; and

(7) A specific schedule for a "longer" session is needed to determine operating expenses and staffing needs.

(d) The legislature further recognizes that the bureau's report suggested that:

(1) The legislature first determine the essential timing and framework for a desirable lengthened legislative calendar for election and non-election years;

(2) Establishing specific and concrete proposals regarding the duration of a lengthened regular session calendar would allow parties having direct in-depth knowledge regarding potential fiscal, operational, administrative, legal, and labor impacts within the legislative environment to more accurately frame staffing and budgetary needs and other operational issues; and

(3) This approach would facilitate the preparation of a more complete and reliable assessment of the feasibility and cost of establishing a lengthened or continuous regular session.

(e) The legislature finds that a more continuous legislative framework would facilitate improved planning, analysis, and coordination across the legislative process, and therefore, a year-round legislature is the most suitable approach to ensure more thorough deliberation, transparency, and responsiveness. The legislature further finds that the development of a year-round legislative framework requires formalized planning, sustained engagement, and the preparation of a comprehensive plan to be considered and adopted by both houses of the Legislature, thereby necessitating a working group composed of members of the legislative branch to ensure accountability and alignment with legislative priorities. The legislature also finds it essential that the working group receive input from legislative staff, legislative service agencies, the executive branch, and the public to adequately consider the impacts of a year-round legislature across government and the public.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Establish a regular session review working group to develop a comprehensive plan and make recommendations to the legislature on the adoption of an effective year-round legislative session calendar; and

(2) Establish a technical advisory committee composed of legislative staff and members from legislative service agencies, other branches of government, and the public, that is exempt from part I of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statute, to advise the regular session working group on issues relating to the adoption and operation of a year-round legislative session calendar, including but not limited to campaign activities, elections, ethics, costs, staffing, and security considerations.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established a regular session review working group to develop a comprehensive plan and make recommendations to the legislature on the adoption of an effective year-round legislative session calendar.

(b) The members of the working group shall include:

(1) The senate president, or their designee;

(2) The speaker of the house of representatives, or their designee;

(3) Two members of the senate, to be appointed by the senate president;

(4) Two members of the house of representatives, to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

(5) The majority leaders of both houses of the legislature, or their designees; and

(6) The minority leaders of both houses of the legislature, or their designees.

(c) There is established a technical advisory committee that shall operate solely in an advisory capacity to the regular session review working group on issues relating to the adoption and operation of a year-round legislative session calendar, including but not limited to campaign activities, elections, ethics, costs, staffing, and security considerations. Member of the technical advisory committee shall include:

(1) The attorney general, or the attorney general's designee;

(2) The comptroller, or the comptroller's designee;

(3) The chief clerks of both houses of the legislature, or the chief clerks' designees;

(4) The director of the legislative reference bureau, or the director's designee;

(5) The chief election officer, or the chief election officer's designee; and

(6) The chair of the state ethics commission, or the chair's designee.

The members of the technical advisory committee may invite other persons to serve as committee members whose technical expertise may assist in advising the working group in fulfilling its duties pursuant to subsections (a) and (e).

(d) The technical advisory committee shall be exempt from part I of chapter 92.

(e) In fulfilling its duties as set forth in subsection (a), the working group shall:

(1) Study the feasibility of transitioning the legislature's regular session from one that meets from mid-January to early May to one that meets year-round;

(2) Analyze the financial impacts and necessary costs to operate year-round regular sessions, including staffing requirements, changes to legislative services, operational costs, office space needs, and impacts on legislation;

(3) Analyze and recommend any constitutional, statutory, and legislative rule changes necessary to implement year-round regular sessions;

(4) Examine other states that have year-round legislative calendars or legislative calendars that are lengthened, which for the purposes of this Act means any regular session that is of significantly longer duration than the State's typical January-to-May regular session, as deemed appropriate by the working group; and

(5) Consider the findings and suggestions made by the legislative reference bureau in its report submitted pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution No. 138, H.D. 1, S.D.1 (2024).

(f) The regular session review working group may contract the services of a qualified facilitator to facilitate its meetings if the members deem it appropriate. Any contract subject to this subsection shall be exempt from chapter 103D, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

(g) The regular session review working group shall submit an interim report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature for public comment and feedback no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2027. The regular session review working group shall submit a final report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2028.

(h) The legislative reference bureau shall provide assistance to the working group in finalizing the working group's report and drafting any proposed legislation; provided that the working group shall submit a draft report to the bureau no later than October 31, 2027.

(i) The regular session review working group and technical advisory committee shall be dissolved on June 30, 2028.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 to contract for the services of a facilitator for meetings of the regular session review working group established pursuant to section 2 of this Act; provided that the contracting of services using funds appropriated under this section shall be exempt from chapter 103D, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the senate for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 to contract for the services of a facilitator for meetings of the technical advisory committee established pursuant to section 2 of this Act; provided that the contracting of services using funds appropriated under this section shall be exempt from chapter 103D, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the house of representatives for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on October 18, 3000; provided that sections 3 and 4 of this Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2469
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1