STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1316-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2929

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 2929, S.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 establish the Electronic Posting Pilot Project for counties with a population between one hundred thousand and 175,000, allowing county agencies to satisfy county‑wide public notice requirements through electronic posting on official county websites while retaining publication as an alternative option.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui and Liquor Control Commission of the County of Maui. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the 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Your Committee finds that public notice requirements rooted in print-only publication are outdated and no longer reflect how residents access government information.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 all government websites will modernize public notice practices, improve transparency, and provide more timely access to information for communities statewide.

Your Committee further finds that the companion to this measure, H.B. No. 2388, H.D. 2 (Regular Session of 2026), was previously passed by the House.

Your Committee has amended this measure by deleting its contents and inserting the contents of H.B. No. 2388, H.D. 2, a measure that:

(1) Permanently allows government agencies, not just county agencies, to satisfy public notice requirements by posting notices on official state or county websites, while retaining publication as an option; and

(2) Contains an effective date of July 1, 3000.

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 S.B. No. 2929, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2929, S.D. 1, 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