Major Reform Bills Are Still On The Table. Will This Be The Year They Pass?
By Patti Epler, Richard Wiens, Chad Blair
January 26, 2025
On Election Day, voters on Oʻahu waited hours in line to cast their ballots in person at one of the only two voter centers operating that day. The centers had to stay open well beyond the mandatory 7 p.m. deadline, delaying the first election results until after midnight.
It wasn’t the first time. Since transitioning to all-mail voting in 2020, state and county officials have routinely short-changed the system for those who want to vote in person. The painful process of standing in line to cast a ballot has repeated itself for at least three election cycles.
Now, state lawmakers have responded to the public frustration and introduced at least five bills this legislative session to require counties, particularly Honolulu, to open more centers on Election Day.
More than 200 of the 3,000-plus bills filed this session — the deadline was Thursday — are again seeking ways to make government more accountable and transparent, or at least work more efficiently. As with the push for more voter centers, lawmakers are responding to public outcries on a number of headline-grabbing issues — from problems with allowing money to influence state contracts to government seizure of assets before being convicted of a crime to cracking down on allowing kids to bring cell phones to school.
This year we are continuing our effort to track measures that work to improve — or in some cases back away from — government accountability, transparency and ethical leadership.
The prospects are again uncertain this session for hundreds of sunshine bills. (Kalany Omengkar/Civil Beat/2023)
“Let The Sunshine In” started two years ago when a special House Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct proposed more than two dozen improvements to laws relating to ethics, campaign finance, elections and other government practices. Much has been accomplished, but, as this year’s raft of proposed legislation shows, there is still a lot left to be done.
The Foley commission, as it came to be known because it was headed by retired Judge Dan Foley, was appointed after two veteran state lawmakers and a couple of Maui County officials were convicted in federal court of charges related to accepting bribes from a Honolulu businessman. For years, he had been paying them to sway legislation and, in Maui County’s case, steer lucrative contracts for wastewater management to his company. Then the FBI got wise to it, setting off a political drive to put in place the kinds of accountability measures other states have had for decades.
In 2023, lawmakers passed many of the Foley commission recommendations, including strengthening the investigation of and penalties for government fraud, reforming key areas of the political process like lobbying practices and campaign financing and generally reducing the power of money in politics.
But a number of the toughest reform measures — stopping pay-to-play practices by government contractors, full public financing of elections, prohibiting campaign contributions during legislative sessions, more transparency of political relationships, among others — were left on the table.
The same proposals surfaced again in the 2024 session and again failed to pass.
Rep. David Tarnas cites progress on government reform proposals, but many of the big ones are still that — proposals. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2024)
Rep. David Tarnas, who chairs the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee which has jurisdiction over most of the political and government reform measures, said in a recent interview that lawmakers have made significant progress in the last two years. He ticked off the list of Foley commission measures that got through the first year and called that “a very useful guide.”
He pointed to a handful of recommendations that have been a tougher sell politically, such as applying the state’s open meetings law, called the Sunshine Law, to the Legislature, which exempted itself years ago. Reducing the cost of providing public records, eliminating campaign contributions during session and using public money to help candidates run for office are other measures he hopes to revisit this year.
Tarnas said he has been eyeing a Connecticut law that regulates political donations, especially campaign contributions from companies that are seeking to do business with the state — the classic pay-to-play situation. He planned to introduce a bill that builds on the Connecticut model.
Several other measures also have been introduced that seek to control influence by contractors and nonprofits that rely on the state for grants and business. The problem gained new urgency after an investigative report by Civil Beat and The New York Times detailed tens of millions of dollars that have flowed from contractors to candidates over the past decade, and the blatant soliciting of political money through late-night parties and other fundraising efforts.
Other issues that got no traction in the last couple years are coming back this year not only as bills but also as proposed constitutional amendments, which would give the public the ability to vote directly on an issue. Lawmakers generally have refused to allow any significant public policy measure to go to the ballot and Hawaiʻi is the only Western state without a statewide citizens initiative process.
Civil Beat opinion writers are closely following efforts to bring more transparency and accountability to state and local government — at the Legislature, the county level and in the media. Help us by sending ideas and anecdotes to sunshine@civilbeat.org.
Yet numerous legislators have signed on to ask voters to weigh in on term limits, legalizing marijuana, a year-round Legislature, the retirement age of judges, abortion rights and even the right to a clean environment, among other issues.
When it comes to good government bills, Democrats and Republicans are often on the same side. And the list of accountability measures this year includes many that are co-sponsored by members of both parties.
In the House, a new bipartisan Good Government Caucus has been organized and members have teamed up to push for improvement in legislative and political practices including paying to hire an investigator for the Campaign Spending Commission and tightening restrictions on money flowing into candidates and campaign committees.
We’ve pulled together a list of the 200-plus bills and their sponsors that we’ll be tracking this session, organized here by subject matter so it’s easier to follow. The brief descriptions are just that — shorthand for what the bill is basically about. Please use the highlighted link to go to the bill for the details.
We plan to update this list periodically so save this story and check back to see what progress, if any, has been made. Some are already set for hearings in the coming week so check the committee hearing schedule for both the House and the Senate for times.
The line to cast a vote at one of only two in-person voting centers on Oʻahu last November stretched around Honolulu Hale and out toward the Fasi building. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024)
Civil Beat’s List Of Sunshine Bills
ELECTIONS
Increasing the number of voter service centers
HB 259 – Requires each county council district to have one voter service center and have it open on election day. —Alcos, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Olds, Reyes Oda, Ward
HB 297 – Requires each county council district to have one voter center and the center is open on election day. —Pierick, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Reyes Oda, Shimizu, Ward
HB 601 – Increases the number of voter centers and funds them. —Garcia, Pierick, Ward
SB134 – Counties with populations of more than 500,000 to get three more voter service centers. —Kim, Aquino, Chang, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Kanuha, Keohokalole, Kidani, McKelvey, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura
SB 1240 – Increase the number of voter service centers. —Awa, Chang, DeCorte
Voter registration
HB 408 – Office of Elections package: extends time to register for voting by mail to 10 days before primary rather than 30 days. —Nakamura
SB 275 – Elections Commission package: Extends time to register for vote by mail to 10 days before primary rather than 30 days. —Kouchi
HB 473 – Creates voter registration program to automatically preregister or register youths 16 and older in public, charter and private schools. —Lee, Amato, Belatti, Hashem, Holt, Hussey, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kila, Kusch, La Chica, Marten, Miyake, Olds, Pierick, Poepoe, Sayama, Takatama, Takenouchi, Tam, Tarnas, Todd
SB 78 – Makes an application for voter registration part of certain state agency application processes. —Rhoads, Chang
SB 81 – Requires the Department of Human Services’ Med-QUEST division to automatically transmit applicants’ voter registration information to the Office of Elections and clerk of the county of the applicant’s residence. —Chang, Rhoads, Moriwaki
HB 322 – Requires the Department of Human Services to automatically transmit voter registration information for any Med-Quest applicant. —Kapela, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kusch, Miyake, Perruso, Poepoe, Tarnas, Todd
Election workers prepare ballots for machine counting at the Capital last November. (Craig Fuji/Civil Beat/2024)
Elections and election practices
SB 114 – Establishes presidential preference primary elections for the 2028 election cycle. —Rhoads, Chang, Lee, Fukunaga
SB 335 – Requires a political party’s objection to a candidate nomination to be determined by the Office of Elections. —Chang
HB 104 – Challenges to election nominating papers by party officials to be determined by the Office of Elections. —Tam, Iawamoto, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Takayama
SB 176 – Changes the criteria for mandatory recounts. —Rhoads
SB 780 – Requirements for disqualifying candidates from the ballot and challenging them. —Rhoads, Chang, Richards
HB 134 – Requires elections officials to provide an electronic system for filing nominating papers. —Quinlan, Chun, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kila, Kitagawa, Kusch, La Chica, Lamosao, Marten, Matayoshi, Olds, Pierick, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza
Voter issues
SB 435 – Voter guide: Requires Elections Office to notify voters about voter guide and make it available 21 days before primary and 50 days before general. —Rhoads, Chang, Gabbard
SB 1030 – Specifies that voter fraud and intimidation includes carrying a gun at a voter center or polling place. —Lee, Chang, Rhoads, Wakai, Ihara
HB 767 – Expands ballot curing period from five to 13 days. —Souza, Amato, Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Poepoe, Reyes Oda
Legislative vacancies
HB 1078 – Provides governor with discretion to not fill a vacant legislative position if the vacancy occurs 120 days or less from an upcoming primary. —Nakamura
SB 5 – Governor can fill a legislative vacancy by appointment for the rest of term and the next term. —Inouye, Chang, Fukunaga, Hashimoto, McKelvey, Fevella
SB 300 – Governor has to fill legislative vacancies by a certain deadline or Senate president or House speaker can do it. —San Buenaventura, Chang, Fevella, Moriwaki
SB 1397 – Provides governor with discretion to not fill a vacant legislative position if the vacancy occurs 120 days or less from an upcoming primary. —Kouchi
Elections Commission and oversight
HB 141 – Elections Commission members to be confirmed by Senate. —Tam, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Marten
SB 948 – Would make members of the Elections Commission subject to Senate approval. —Chang
SB 1515 – Replaces the boards of registration with on-call circuit judges to hear elections disputes. —Kouchi
HB 1435 – Replaces the boards of registration with on-call circuit judges to hear elections disputes. —Nakamura
SB 1555 – Adopts the Code of Fair Campaign Practices that candidates may use as a guide for their election campaigns. —Ihara
HB 23 – Elect the Insurance Commissioner. —Ilagan
The Campaign Spending Commission continues to propose more restrictions on who can make political contributions — and when. (Danny de Gracia/Civil Beat/2023)
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
State contractor donations
HB 371 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Restrictions on donations from contractors and grantees, company and organization officials and their family members. —Nakamura
SB 257 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Restrictions on donations from contractors and grantees, company and organization officials and their family members. —Kouchi
SB 809 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Contractor and grantee donations restrictions. —Rhoads, Fukunaga, Gabbard, Moriwaki, Richards
HB 765 – Prohibits contributions from contractors, officers, consultants and family members. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Reyes Oda
HB 1336 – Amends the prohibition against contributions to a candidate committee or noncandidate committee by state and county contractors to include state and county grantees and the owners, officers, consultants, and joint account holders of a state or county contractor or state or county grantee. —Iwamoto, Amatto, Belatti, Cochran, Perruso, Souza, Matsumoto
HB 894 – Prohibits state contractors from donating to or soliciting donations for noncandiate committees and political party committees. —Tarnas, Amato, Evslin, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Kapela, Kusch, La Chica, M. Lee, Lowen, Marten, Olds, Perruso, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza, Takayama, Tam, Todd
Other campaign contributions
HB 372 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Prohibits campaign contributions to elected officials during session. —Nakamura
SB 258 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Prohibits campaign contributions to elected officials during session. —Kouchi
HB 149 – Requires corporations to provide shareholders with a report of independent expenditures and political contributions. —Tarnas, Belatti, Iwamoto, Marten, Perruso, Poepoe, Quinlan, Souza, Tam
HB 369 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Return excess campaign funds or they go to the state. —Nakamura
SB 255 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Excess campaign contributions to go to state if not returned within 30 days. —Kouchi
SB 1593 – Unused campaign funds couldn’t carry over to subsequent election and would go to the state after a certain period of time if not used. —Awa, DeCorte
HB 769 – Creates a Democracy Dollars program to provide vouchers for voters to be able to spend on candidates. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Perruso, Souza
HB 662 – Repeals exemption for use of the candidates own funds, makes contributions by family members subject to limits, amends loan amount from candidate or family. —Kila, Evslin, Lamosao, Takenouchi
HB 772 – Disallows use of campaign funds to buy two tickets for fundraisers. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Matsumoto, Perruso, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Souza
HB 1190 – Repeals the authority for campaign funds to carry over to subsequent elections. —Iwamoto, Perruso, Pierick
HB 1478 – Establishes new requirements for identifying certain top contributors for election campaign purposes. – Belatti, Cochran, Grandinetti, Marten, Muraoka, Perruso, Souza, Amato
SB 1202 – Allows candidates to spend campaign funds for child care. —Kim, Aquino, Chang, Fevella, Hashimoto, Kidani, McKelvey, Rhoads, San Buenaventura, Dela Cruz, Richards
Sen. Karl Rhoads is still pushing to provide a full public funding option for political campaigns. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019)
Public financing of elections
HB 370 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Revises partial public financing with increased amounts for each office. —Nakamura
SB 345 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Partial public financing increases cap on matching funds and amount that can be spent. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Kidani
SB 256 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Revises partial public financing with increased amounts for each office. —Kouchi
HB 308 – Increases partial public financing of elections. —Poepoe, Amato, Belatti, Evslin, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Kila, Perruso, Tarnas
SB 51 – Establishes a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices in the State of Hawaiʻi, to begin with the 2026 general election year. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, McKelvey, San Buenaventura, Fevella, Ihara, Moriwaki
HB 766 – Full public financing of campaigns beginning in 2026. —Belatti, Amato, Grandinetti, Hussey, Perruso, Souza
PACs
HB 771 – Campaign Spending Commission package: Establishes new requirements on super PACs including fees and fact-checking of messaging. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Reyes Oda, Souza
SB 1032 – Requires business entities contributing or spending money in an election to disclose their foreign influence and requires independent expenditure committee donors to disclose their interests. —Lee, Kidani, Moriwaki, Rhoads, Fevella, Fukunaga
SB 1173 – Imposes a fee on noncandidate committees based on amount of money spent. —McKelvey, Rhoads
Campaign Spending Commission
HB 691 – Appropriates money to Campaign Spending Commission for new positions. —Kapela, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Perruso, Poepoe, Tarnas
HB 768 – Good Government Caucus – Funds more investigators for Campaign Spending Commission. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Marten, Matsumoto, Perruso, Quinlan, Reyes, Oda
SB 118 – Creating and funding an investigator for the Campaign Spending Commission. —Rhoads, Chang
Robert Harris served on the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct and continues to seek governmental reforms as executive director of the state Ethics Commission. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022)
ETHICS
HB 411 – Ethics Commission package: Uniform provisions for penalties under lobbying law. —Nakamura
SB 289 – Ethics Commission package: Uniform provisions for penalties under lobbying law. —Kouchi
HB 412 – Ethics Commission package: Expands definition of lobbying to include high government officials when involving procurement. —Nakamura
SB 290 – Ethics Commission package: Expands definition of lobbying to include high government officials when involving procurement. —Kouchi
HB 413 – Ethics Commission package: Clarifies restriction on lobbyist contributions. —Nakamura
SB 291 – Ethics Commission package: Clarifies restriction on lobbyist contributions. —Kouchi
HB 493 – Applies state ethics laws to legislators. —Iwamoto, Belatti, Perruso, Pierick, Ward
SB 1583 – Authorizes legislators to use state equipment for community initiatives within their own districts. —Awa, DeCorte
PUBLIC RECORDS
HB 130 – Caps fees on public records and includes a public interest waiver. —Tarnas, Belatti, Chun, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kapela, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza, Takayama, Ward
SB 406 – Caps the cost of reproducing a public record at 5 cents per page. —Rhoads
SB 863 – Cap on search and redaction costs for public records and a waiver when in the public interest. —Rhoads
Bills are frequently proposed to give the public quicker and cheaper access to public records. (Courtesy: Carolann Guy)
HB 131 – Allows records to be released for research purposes. —Tarnas, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kapela, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Souza, Tam
SB 353 – Prohibits governor from suspending requests for public records during an emergency and allows Legislature and county councils to terminate governor or mayor’s state of emergency. —Rhoads, Elefante, McKelvey
SB 786 – Requires public records be made available in a disability-accessible format. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga
SB 571 – Designates all federal ICE records pertaining to detained individuals are public. —Aquino
SB 1255 – Clarifies that public records subject to disclosure under UIPA includes information created and maintained by private contractors. —Kim, Chang, DeCoite, Fevella, Hashimoto, Kidani, Dela Cruz
SUNSHINE LAW
HB 724 – Brings the Legislature under the Sunshine Law. —Hussey, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Perruso
HB 494 – Applies Sunshine Law to the Legislature by repealing exemption. —Iwamoto, Pierick
HB 144 – Allows two or more members of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority to meet together during transition period as long as no commitment to vote is made and no decision-making. —Tarnas, Garrett, Kahaloa, Kila, Matayoshi, Takayama
SB 770 – Allows two or more members of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority to meet together during transition period as long as no commitment to vote is made and no decision-making. —Richards, Aquino, Chang
HB 403 – Kauaʻi County Council package: Allows any member of a board to attend an informational meeting as long as it’s not directed at that board. —Nakamura
SB 270 – Kauaʻi County Council package: Allows any member of a board to attend an informational meeting as long as its not directed at that board. —Kouchi
HB 1412 – Designates the neighborhood commission as the appropriate oversight authority for application of the Sunshine Law to neighborhood boards. Authorizes neighborhood boards to discuss official government reports without placing it on the agenda, provided that no decision-making can be made. —Reyes Oda, Alcos, Garcia, Kusch, Matsumoto, Pierick, Tam, Todd
SB 405 – Allows neighborhood boards to discuss items not on the agenda if brought up by a government official. —Rhoads
HB 686 – Defines community outreach boards and brings them under the Sunshine Law similar to neighborhood boards. —Kapela, Kahaloa, Perruso
SB 869 – Defines community outreach boards and brings them under the Sunshine Law similar to neighborhood boards. —Kanuha, Chang, McKelvey, Gabbard, Ihara
SB 381 – Requires that selecting heads of public agencies or divisions be done in open meetings through an open public process. —McKelvey, Chang, DeCorte, Gabbard, Fevella
HB 50 – Authorizes boards and commissions to make decisions about employees without approval of the affiliated department. —Garrett
SB 444 – Authorizes boards and commissions to make decisions about employees without approval of the affiliated department. —Dela Cruz, Chang, Hashimoto, Kidani, Kim, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura
SB 1556 – Establishes a Trusted Public Representative Program within the Office of Information Practices under which the office assigns a volunteer Trusted Public Representative trained in the requirements of the Sunshine Law and observes public agency meetings closed to the public. —Ihara
SB 1651 – Requires that board packets for public meetings be posted at least two full days in advance of meeting. —Rhoads
HB 329 – Exempts the School Facilities Authority Board workgroups and subcommittees from the Sunshine Law. —La Chica, Amato, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Kitiagawa, Marten, Olds, Poepoe, Quinlan, Reyes Oda, Souza, Todd
SB 580 – Exempts the School Facilities Authority Board workgroups and subcommittees from the Sunshine Law. —Hashimoto, Aquino, Chang, DeCoite, Fevella, Gabbard, McKelvey, Ihara
ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
Legislative procedures
HB 296 – Require fiscal notes on all bills. —Matsumoto, Alcos, Garcia, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu, Ward
HB 1199 – Requires fiscal notes on all fiscal bills. Prohibits a committee from making a decision on a fiscal bill without a fiscal note. —Reyes Oda, Garcia, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Todd, Ward
HB 568 – Requires fiscal notes for legislation. —Shimizu
HB 792 – Clarifies the office of the legislative analyst. —Yamashita
SB 1081 – Establishes the Legislative Budget Office to produce fiscal reports on bills and legislation. —Inouye
There are many proposals to change the way the Hawaiʻi Legislature operates. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024)
HB 793 – Requires House Speaker and Senate President be notified within 10 days of the state receiving any federal monies available for spending. —Yamashita
HB 875 – Appropriates funds for a State Capitol tour guide position within the Public Access Room. —Lee, Chun, Kahaloa, Kapela, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Lowen, Matsumoto, Morikawa, Olds, Perruso, Poe, Souza, Takayama, Tam, Tarnas, Ward, Kila, Reyes Oda
HB 1465 – Establishes a housing allowance for legislators from neighbor islands who come to Oʻahu for session. —Amato, Iwamoto
SB 1031 – Allows Legislature to put non-binding advisory questions and referendum on the ballot to ask voters their opinion on matters. —Lee, Chang
SB 1545 – Repeals language in the State’s Code of Ethics that exempts the Legislative Branch from prohibitions against nepotism in public employment. —Kim, Chang, Fevella, Gabbard, Kidani, Richards, Wakai
SB 1611 – Requires appointments to certain state agency jobs be approved by the Senate, including the governor’s homeless coordinator, the senior advisor for mental health and the deputy human services director. —San Buenaventura, McKelvey
SB 711 – Requires Senate confirmation for state employees whose salary is larger than the governor’s if it’s an employee in the governor’s office or if larger than the head of the agency the person is working in. —San Buenaventura, Chang, Fevella, Hashimoto, McKelvey
HB 1320 – Requires the University of Hawaiʻi system to collect, analyze, and publicly report certain graduate outcome data. —Garrett, Amato, Belatti, Iwamoto, Kila, Lamosao, Marten, Miyake, Perruso, Poepoe, Tarnas
SB 741 – Establishes an external audit committee within the University of Hawaiʻi to audit the UH System and the Board of Regents and report annually to the Legislature. —Dela Cruz, Chang, Elefante, Hashimoto, Kidani, Richards
SB 747 – Establishes an audit office within the Department of Education to audit the DOE and report to the Legislature. Creates six positions for the audit office and provides funding. —Dela Cruz, Hashimoto, Kidani, Richards
SB 798 – Establishes a Child Welfare Oversight Commission to review practices of CWS and issues raised in the 2024 auditor’s report and make recommendations to reduce child harm and death and propose legislation for reform. —Rhoads
SB 375 – Governor Package: Establishes a government restructuring commission. —McKelvey, Chang, Gabbard, Kidani, Fevella, Hashimoto
HB 1425 – Establishes a temporary working group to study the feasibility of transitioning the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s regular session from one that meets for 3.5 months from mid-January to early May, to one that meets on a year-round basis. —Nakamura
SB 1514 – Establishes a temporary working group to study the feasibility of transitioning the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s regular session from one that meets for 3.5 months from mid-January to early May, to one that meets on a year-round basis. —Kouchi
SB 1618 – Establishes a Journalistic Ethics Commission overseen by state government including establishing a code of ethics and a board to hear complaints and levy penalties for violations. —Kim, DeCoite, Dela Cruz, Fevella, Hashimoto, Richards, San Buenaventura, Wakai
Asset forfeiture and other policing issues
HB 126 – Hawaiʻi Omnibus Criminal Forfeiture Act: Increases transparency and accountability around asset forfeiture. Clarifies what property can be forfeited. —Tarnas, Amato, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kitagawa, Lamosao, Marten, Perruso, Poepoe, Souza, Takayama
HB 492 – Civil asset forfeiture occurs only after conviction. —Iwamoto, Grandinetti, Perruso
SB 320 – Restricts asset forfeiture to after conviction of felony. —San Buenaventura, Chang, Lee, McKelvey, Rhoads
Some legislators want to further limit civil asset forfeitures, especially in cases that do not end in convictions. (David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024)
SB 722 – Makes civil asset forfeiture only for felony convictions and other changes. —Rhoads, Aquino, Chang, Fevella, Gabbard, Inouye, Kidani, McKelvey, San Buenaventura, Wakai
SB 1029 – Asset forfeiture applies to felony convictions. —Lee, Chang, McKelvey, Rhoads
SB 1126 – Asset forfeiture upon conviction only. —Wakai
SB 813 – Requires a law enforcement officer to report criminal misconduct by other officers and specifies the officer can be decertified if they don’t report. Also requires psychological screening before becoming a police officer and prohibits chokeholds. —Rhoads, Chang
HB 595 – Establishes the right to record law enforcement. —Belatti, Grandinetti, Perruso
SB 307 – Establishes right to record law enforcement. —Rhoads, Chang
HB 610 – Establishes a cold case unit within the AG’s office for investigation of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples. —Souza, Amato, Cochran, Iwamoto, Perruso, Poepoe
HB 291 – Stand Your Ground law established. —Garcia, Alcos, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu, Ward
HB 390 – Increases penalties for bribery, under certain circumstances. —Nakamura
SB 775 – Prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement except in limited circumstances. —Rhoads, Aquino, Chang
SB 1149 – Requires law enforcement to report all possible hate crimes. —Lee, Hashimoto, Rhoads
SB 1156 – Makes it a crime to create a sexually explicit deepfake. —Gabbard, San Buenaventura
HB 278 – Requires county police agencies to collect data on arrests, stops, use of force and complaints and provide to the AG which would produce a report. —Tarnas, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kila, Kitagawa, Marten, Perruso, Poepoe, Sayama, Souza, Takayama
HB 61 – Requires county mayors to appoint medical examiners. —Souza, Perruso
State Rep. Amy Perruso taught social studies in Hawaiʻi public schools for almost 20 years and continues to introduce legislation calling for more civic education. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2017)
Media literacy and civic education
HB 100 – Authorizes school complexes to incorporate media literacy in their standards-based curriculum, including content that prevents negative impacts of misinformation, disinformation, digital discrimination, and online hate speech. —Perruso, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Marten, Poepoe, Tam, Chun
SB 772 – Media literacy and digital citizenship curriculum in schools to prevent misinformation and online hate speech. —Rhoads, Chang, Gabbard, Kim, San Buenaventura, Fukunaga, Hashimoto, Richards
SB 844 – Requires digital citizenship and media literacy curriculum in the schools. —Chang
HB 763 – Promotes civic education in public schools including two full-time positions. —Perruso, Belatti, Garrett, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Matsumoto, Olds, Pierick, Poepoe, Quinlan, Reyes Oda, Souza, Takayama
HB 1210 – Requires the Department of Education to provide and disseminate its procedures for dealing with bullying. —Templo
SB 1631 – Establishes the Aloha Civics Collaborative to promote civics and perpetuate the Aloha Spirit. —Ihara
Cell phones and social media
HB 289 – No cell phones or social media in schools and requires social media education program. —Shimizu, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Ward
HB 623 – Requires the Board of Education to adopt a policy that bans the use of phones and related devices by students during school hours. —Woodson, Evslin, Garcia, Garrett, Grandinetti, La Chica, Lowen, Marten, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Quinlan, Takayama, Tarnas, Ward
HB 1195 – Requires the Department of Education to prohibit cell phone use during the instructional day, prohibit student access to social media through the school’s internet, and implement a social media education campaign. —Shimizu, Alcos, Lowen, Muraoka, Pierick, Ward
HB 1224 – Requires the Department of Education to prohibit cell phone use during the instructional day, prohibit student access to social media through the school’s internet, and implement a social media education campaign. —Matsumoto, Alcos, Evslin, Garcia, Kila, Kusch, Lamosao, Matayoshi, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Ward
HB 1303 – Requires each public school to implement a policy to prohibit students from using cellular phones and other wireless communication devices during school hours. —Kila, Evslin, Kahaloa, Lamosa, Poepoe
HB 1343 – Requires the Board of Education to adopt a policy that bans the use of phones and related devices by students during school hours. —Woodson, Amato, Chun, Evslin, Garcia, Garrett, Grandinetti, Holt, Kahaloa, Kila, Kusch, La Chica, Lamosao, Lowen, Marten, Matayjoshi, Matsumoto, Morikawa, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Quinlan, Sayama, Souza, Takayama, Tarnas, Templo, Todd, Ward
SB 684 – Requires the Board of Education to adopt administrative rules to ban the usage of cell phones at Department of Education schools. – Gabbard
SB 1544 – Requires each public school to implement a policy to prohibit students from using cellular phones and other wireless communication devices during school hours. – Kim, Chang, Dela Cruz, Fevella, Gabbard, Kidani, Rhoads, Richards, Hashimoto, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura
AI and Internet
HB 487 – Provides funds to Legislative Reference Bureau to procure AI to streamline state law and regulations. —Muroaka
HB 824 – Gives funding to the Legislative Reference Bureau to procure AI to streamline state laws and rules. —Muraoka
HB 546 – Establishes the Aloha Intelligence Institute within UH to develop, support and advance AI initiatives. —Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds Sayama
Many bills push for classrom bans on cell phones and social media. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
SB 1622 – Establishes the Aloha Intelligence Institute within UH to develop, support and advance AI initiatives. —Kim, Chang, Inouye, McKelvey, Richards, San Buenaventura, Wakai
HB 639 – Requires anyone engaging in commercial transactions to make it clear the customer is interacting with an AI chatbot if it is mimicking a human. —La Chica, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Lowen, Marten, Perruso, Pierick, Todd, Ward
SB 640 – Requires anyone engaging in commercial transactions to make it clear the customer is interacting with an AI chatbot if it is mimicking a human. —Keohokalole, Chang, Fevella, Fukunaga, Hashimoto, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura, Wakai
HB 1384 – Establishes the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council. —Garrett, Amato, Belatti, Chun, Kapela, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kila, Lamosao, Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Poepoe, Quinlan, Souza, Takayama, Ward
Neighborhood boards and community meetings
HB 944 – Authorizes neighborhood boards to solicit ideas for capital improvement projects and budget priorities and county mayors to respond. —Hussey, Amato, Belatti, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Olds, Perruso, Pierick, Reyes Oda
HB 1395 – Requires counties to ensure neighborhood board members’ terms don’t exceed one year and residents can vote for board members with electronically or in person. —Pierick
SB 1558 – Applies the campaign finance laws to candidates for the neighborhood boards. —Ihara
HB 1329 – Requires government agencies planning a major project to give notice to communities that are affected and hold public hearings —Cochran, Amato, Belatti, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Ward
HB 1453 – Prohibits boards from beginning or continuing meetings after 9 p.m., excluding county council meetings. —Tam, Kila, Templo, Matayoshi
SB 1617 – Prohibits boards from beginning or continuing meetings after 9 p.m., excluding county council meetings. —Chang
SB 1253 – Clarifies rules regarding boards and commission members who are holdovers. -—Kim, Chang, DeCoite, Fevella, Hashimoto, Inouye, Wakai, Dela Cruz, Moriwaki
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Changes to the Legislature, elections and campaigns
HB 770 – Establishing a continuous legislative session with restrictions on outside employment. —Belatti, Amato, Grandinetti, Hussey, Kapela, Perruso, Reyes Oda, Tam
SB 733 – Establishing a continuous legislature that meets at least once a month. Restricts outside employment. —Chang, Gabbard, McKelvey, Fevella
SB 311 – Provides that right of free speech does not include spending money to influence elections. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Inouye, Kidani, McKelvey, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura, Gabbard, Richards
SB 1225 – Majority of votes means all yes votes and doesn’t include spoiled, blank or over votes. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Gabbard, San Buenaventura
SB 1238 – Incumbent legislators would be ineligible to serve based on the size of the Native Hawaiian population. —Awa
SB 1284 – Proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit discrimination against a person because of ethnicity, age, disability, religion, national ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. —Lee, Kidani, Rhoads, San Buenaventura
Senators and representatives frequently propose constitutional amendments, but the Legislature rarely allows the public a chance to vote on them. (Caleb Hartsfield/Civil Beat)
SB 1557 – Proposes a constitutional amendment to provide for a citizens’ assembly and to authorize the citizens’ assembly to propose to the Legislature constitutional and statutory revisions or amendments to the laws governing elections, political campaigns, campaign finance, ethics, referendum, reapportionment, legislative process, and public access to information. —Ihara
HB 140 – Making reapportionment based on the resident population rather than the permanent resident population. —Quinlan
SB 124 – Making reapportionment based on the resident population rather than the permanent resident population. —Rhoads
Term Limits
HB 298 – Term limits – Maximum 12 years in each chamber starting in 2026. —Ward, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu
HB 488 – Term limits on elected officials plus bars criminally convicted elected officials from office. —Muraoka, Pierick
HB 495 – Term limits in Legislature of 16 years. —Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Perruso, Pierick, Ward
HB 570 – Term limits of 12 years for legislators. —Shimizu
HB 764 – Term limits for legislators starting in 2028. —Belatti, Amato, Garrett, Grandinetti, Hussey, Matsumoto, Perruso, Pierick, Poepoe, Reyes Oda, Souza, Ward
SB 1594 – Legislative term limits of 16 years. —Awa, DeBorte, Ihara
Changes to the judiciary
SB 175 – Increase mandatory retirement age of judges to 75. —Rhoads, Chang, Gabbard, San Buenaventura
HB 1216 – Requiring the election of state justices and judges. —Pierick
SB 121 – Giving the Senate more time to consider and confirm judges. —Rhoads, Kanuha, Kidani
Changes to public schools
HB 930 – Requiring the public school system to be thorough and efficient. —Perruso, Grandinetti, Pierick, Poepoe, Ward
HB 287 – Proposes a constitutional amendment that would establish local school boards throughout the state to be elected by the voters. —Reyes Oda, Alcos, Garcia, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu, Ward
Right to abortion and contraception
HB 728 – Right to reproductive freedom including abortion and contraception. —Grandinetti, Amato, Belatti, Cochran, Evslin, Ichiyama, Kahaloa, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kusch, La Chica, Lamosao, M. Lee, Lowen, Marten, Morikawa, Perruso, Poepoe, Sayama, Souza, Takayama, Takenouchi,Tam, Tarnas, Templo, Todd
SB 297 – Abortion rights. —San Buenaventura, Chang, DeCoite, Kanuha, McKelvey, Moriwaki, Rhoads, Richards, Kidani
SB 350 – Right to contraceptives. —Rhoads, Chang, Richards, San Buenaventura, Moriwaki
Legalize marijuana
HB 519 – Legalize recreational use of cannabis by those 21 and older. —Ward, Iwamoto
Environmental health
HB 597 – Establishes right to clean environment. —Poepoe, Amato, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Kahaloa, Lamosao, Lowen, Marten, Perruso
SB 559 – Right to a clean environment. —Rhoads, Gabbard
SB 702 – Right to a clean environment. —Gabbard, Chang, Fevella
Internet privacy
SB 170 – Exclusive property right to the data you generate on the internet. —Rhoads, Chang, Fukunaga, Lee, San Buenaventura, Gabbard