THE SENATE

KA AHA KENEKOA

 

THE THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2026

 

COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY

Senator Brandon J.C. Elefante, Chair

Senator Rachele Lamosao, Vice Chair

 

NOTICE OF HEARING

 

 

DATE:

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

TIME:

3:00 PM

PLACE:

Conference Room 225 & Videoconference

State Capitol

415 South Beretania Street

 

 

PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRANCE TO THE STATE CAPITOL

BUILDING HOURS: 7AM TO 5PM, MONDAY - FRIDAY

 

The Legislature is accepting written, videoconference, and in-person testimony at public hearings.

A live stream of all Senate Standing Committee meetings will be available on the Senate YouTube Channel.

 

 

A G E N D A

 

SB 2993

      Status & Testimony

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

Requires and appropriates funds for the Department of Human Resources Development to offer fully subsidized public transit passes for state employees.

 

LBT, WAM

SB 2778

      Status & Testimony

RELATING TO ETHICS.

Requires a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, department heads and their deputies, and any spouse or dependent child of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, or department head and their deputies to place certain financial interests in a blind trust.  Prohibits a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, department head and their deputies, and any spouse or dependent child of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, or department head and their deputies from acquiring certain financial interests during their term of service.

 

LBT, JDC/WAM

SB 2672

      Status & Testimony

RELATING TO RETIRANTS.

Establishes a five-year pilot program allowing retirants to be rehired for exempt service for one-year terms under certain circumstances.  Provides that retirants employed under the program are excluded from the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund and will not experience an interruption of pension benefits.  Requires an employer of a retirant under the program to contribute to the Employees' Retirement System.  Requires the Department of Human Resources Development to submit a report to the Legislature.  Sunsets 6/30/2031.

 

LBT, WAM

SB 2014

      Status & Testimony

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.

Requires the Director of Human Resources Development to abolish vacant positions within state departments and agencies under its jurisdiction that have been vacant for more than 5 years.  Requires a list of positions abolished to be included in the Director's annual report to the Legislature.  Requires funds for abolished positions to immediately lapse to the credit of the general fund.

 

LBT, WAM

SB 2967

      Status & Testimony

RELATING TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Establishes consumer protection requirements for the use of artificial intelligence systems in consumer interactions and consequential decisions, including disclosures, documentation, and a right to correction, appeal, and human review.  Makes certain violations an unfair or deceptive act or practice.  Requires risk management and impact assessments for high-risk artificial intelligence systems.  Requires incident reports to the Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection and the Attorney General.

 

LBT, CPN

 

 

 

 

Decision Making to follow, if time permits.

 

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.

 

Please go to the Legislature's website, https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov, to submit written testimony at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. Create a free account on the website, or sign in to an existing account, then click on the "Participate" drop down menu and select the "Submit Testimony" option to get started. While submitting your written testimony, you will be prompted to indicate if you would also like to testify at the hearing in-person or remotely via videoconference.

 

Please note the following:

 

·         The number of oral testifiers and/or time allotted to each testifier may be limited by the Chair when necessary to adhere to the committee hearing schedule. We may not be able to accommodate everyone who requests to testify orally.

·         Testifiers for this hearing will be limited to 1 minutes each.

 

If you wish to testify via videoconference during the hearing, please review the detailed step-by-step instructions for testimony procedures before you submit your written testimony. Here's a direct link to the instructions: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/docs/testimonyinstructions.pdf

 

For general help navigating the committee hearing process, please contact the Public Access Room at (808) 587-0478 or par@capitol.hawaii.gov. You can also visit their website at https://lrb.hawaii.gov/par/.

 

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 LBTcommittee@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 808-586-6230.

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________

Senator Brandon J.C. Elefante

Chair