STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2134-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2929

S.D. 1

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2929, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC NOTICE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow government agencies to satisfy public notice requirements by posting notices on official state or county websites or electronic calendars, while retaining publication as an option.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor of Maui County; one member of the Maui County Council; Aloha Independent Living Hawaii; Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association; and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Information Practices; State Procurement Office; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; and one individual.

Your Committee finds that existing law requiring publication of government notices in newspapers of general circulation is outdated in the age of increased digital access and no longer provides adequate notice to the public. By allowing the posting of notices on official state and county websites, this measure will provide greater transparency, accessibility, and timeliness.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the preamble;

(2) Requiring the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, in consultation with the Access Hawaii Committee, to adopt rules governing the implementation of electronic notice before the electronic notice authorization takes legal effect;

(3) Requiring the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to assess whether the existing service level agreement between the State and the portal manager requires modification to accommodate the electronic posting of legal notices, and to submit any required modification to the Access Hawaii Committee for review and approval; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2929, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2929, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair