STAND. COM. REP. NO. 652-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2388

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 2388 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, while retaining publication as an option.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui and Office of the County Clerk of the County of Maui. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; Office of Information Practices; and State Procurement Office.

Your Committee finds that public notice requirements rooted in print-only publication are outdated and no longer reflect how residents access government information. Requiring newspaper publication as the primary method has led to higher costs, reduced accessibility, and delays in informing the public, especially as government communication increasingly shifts online. Your Committee believes that allowing official electronic posting on government websites will modernize public notice practices, improve transparency, and provide more timely access to information for communities statewide.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Reinstating existing exemptions from notice requirements and authorizing government agencies subject to those exemptions to provide supplemental notice by electronic posting;

(2) Specifying that more specific notice requirements in other statutes continue to control unless expressly stated otherwise;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; 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 Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2388, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2388, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair