Here is the status of major bills at the halfway point of the 60-day legislative session. The bills that are alive have passed at least one chamber of the Legislature. The bills that are failing were not approved by the House or Senate by Thursday’s procedural deadline. Failing bills can be revived later, however, and measures can be rewritten to change their effect before the session adjourns in May.

GOVERNMENT

PASSING

Judicial retirements

HB 2509 HD 1

Proposes a constitutional amendment to increase the mandatory retirement age for state justices and judges to 75 years from 70 years.

Aerospace, aeronautics

SB 2081 SD 2

Establishes the Aerospace and Aeronautics Development Program within the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

County, TAT

SB 2919 SD 2

Expands the zoning powers of counties. Expands the scope of the transient accommodations tax law to include certain shelters and vehicles with sleeping accommodations.

Cannabis

SB 3335 SD 2

Makes adult recreational cannabis use legal and establishes the Hawaii Cannabis Authority and Cannabis Control Board.

DUI liability

SB 2017 SD 1

Requires defendants convicted of causing the death of a parent or legal guardian of a minor child by the operation of a vehicle in a negligent manner while under the influence of drugs or alcohol to make restitution in the form of financial support to each surviving child of the victim.

Lobbying

SB 2219 SD 1

Amends the definition of “lobbying” to include communications regarding procurement decisions with certain high-level government officials. Establishes certain presumptions regarding testimony when given by a paid person.

Sunshine

HB 1598 HD 1

Board packets shall be made available for public inspection no later than two business days, rather than 48 hours, before a board meeting. Clarifies that public testimony may be submitted to the board before the meeting.

Oral testimony

HB 1599 HD 1

Requires public-meeting notices to inform members of the public how to provide remote oral testimony that allows the testifier, upon request, to be visible to board members and other meeting participants.

Open meetings

HB 1600 HD 1

Requires that a board may only schedule a meeting for discussion and decision making on a report by an investigative group six days after the investigative group has made a report of its findings to the board.

Meeting requirements

SB 2637 SD 2

Clarifies that the third meeting of public agency meetings must occur not less than six calendar days after the second meeting.

FAILING

Record costs

HB 1610

Imposes a cap on costs charged to reproduce certain government records. Waives reproduction costs charged for the first 100 pages if disclosure serves the public interest.

Emergency powers

HB 1705

Clarifies that emergency powers must comply with the constitution and the needs of the circumstances. Specifies parameters for when a state of emergency is terminated and how proclamations may be extended. Requires a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature for a proclamation extension.

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TAX CREDITS, RATES

PASSING

HB 2404 HD 1

Adjusts income tax brackets along with some deductions and credits annually using a cost-of-living adjustment factor.

HB 2779 HD 1

Incrementally increases the income tax standard deduction for taxable years from 2024 to 2034.

HB 2780 HD 1

Incrementally amends income tax rates every other year beginning in 2027.

HB 1662 HD 1

Establishes a refundable child tax credit beginning in 2025.

Visitor fees

HB 2406 HD 2

Adds a $25 dollar tax on transient accommodations, and deposits an as-yet unspecified sum into a special fund “to prevent climate crises and more effectively respond to climate crises when they occur.”

General excise tax

HB 1675 HD 1

Exempts medical services provided by licensed physicians and advanced practice registered nurses acting for primary care providers from the general excise tax starting in 2026.

Transient lodging

HB 2081 HD 2

Increases the transient accommodations tax on Jan. 1 and imposes a $10,000 daily penalty for not paying TAT.

Cigarette tax

HB 2504 HD 2

Increases the cigarette tax to an as-yet unspecified amount on July 1 with a provision for stock inventory.

FAILING

Visitor fee

SB 304 SD 2 HD 3

Establishes a visitor impact fee program for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to charge visitors for a license to visit a state beach, park, forest and other state natural areas.

Liquor tax hikes

HB 2589

Establishes a three-year surcharge on the liquor tax until June 30, 2027.

SB 3275

Increases the liquor tax and adjusts it for future inflation.

Unemployment exclusion

HB 1612, SB 2662

Exempts unemployment compensation from state personal income tax beginning in the 2023 tax year, and increases the maximum weekly benefit a person may receive in unemployment compensation beginning on Jan. 1.

Employer credit

SB 125, HB 1732

Establishes an income tax credit for employers to hire state residents who have been living, working or studying on the mainland for three or more years and agree to return to Hawaii.

Renter credit

SB 1208 SD 1

Reduces taxes for low- income household renters by increasing income thresholds and tax credit amounts for qualifying households, and annually adjusts the income thresholds and credit amounts for inflation.

Sprinkler credit

SB 2090

Establishes a tax credit for certain owners of a condominium whose association is increasing maintenance fees to comply with a county ordinance requiring an automatic fire sprinkler system or alternative fire prevention and fire safety system.

Employment expense

HB 1776 HD 2

Increases a taxpayer’s applicable percentage of employment-related expenses that may be claimed for the household and dependent care services tax credit for five years.

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EDUCATION

PASSING

Harassment

HB 1651 HD 2

Requires the Department of Education and public charter schools to take certain steps to report incidents of harassment and implement procedures for handling harassment of educational workers.

License surrendering

HB 2400 HD 2, SB 3089 SD 2

Requires teachers to surrender teaching licenses if they resign or retire during an investigation into allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment or other physical abuse of a student and requires a report to the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification.

School buses

HB 1767 HD 1

Authorizes the use of motorcoaches, small buses and vans for school bus services if certain conditions are met.

Promise program

HB 1535 HD 1

Provides scholarships for the unmet needs of qualified students at any four-year University of Hawaii campus who meet certain criteria through the Hawaii Promise Program.

Dyslexia screening

HB 1657 HD 1

Requires all public schools to implement universal screenings for students in kindergarten through third grade to identify and support students who are at risk of dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

School facilities

SB 3328 SD 1

Clarifies the Department of Education’s authority to oversee public education facilities and real estate development. Establishes the Office of Facilities and Real Estate Development and the Office of School Operations and Services. Repeals the School Facilities Authority.

Free breakfast

HB 1775 HD 1

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, requires the Department of Education to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students enrolled in department schools.

Braille literacy

HB 1977 HD 1

Establishes state policy to promote Braille literacy for blind students and requires the Department of Education to establish a braille literacy resource center; requires the individualized education programs of eligible blind students to include the instruction of Braille and provision of Braille instructional materials under certain circumstances.

FAILING

Free tuition

HB 1795

Establishes a working group within the University of Hawaii to evaluate possibilities for making community college free for Hawaii residents.

Graduation requirement

HB 1794, SB 3269

Requires that each Department of Education public school student earn two credits in Hawaiian language as a graduation requirement.

Menstrual equity

HB 2177 HD 1

Requires the University of Hawaii to provide menstrual products free of charge to all students on all campuses, including community colleges and education centers.

Education funding

HB 1537 HD 2, SB 2056

Proposes amendments to the state constitution to repeal the counties’ exclusive power to tax real property and authorize the Legislature to establish a state surcharge on real property taxation levied by the counties on certain residential investment properties for the purpose of helping to fund public education.

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ELECTIONS

PASSING

Automatic recounts

Act 1

Gov. Josh Green signed HB 129 into law. The measure is intended to better protect voting by modifying when auto­matic recounts should be conducted in small races and extends the timeline to complete a recount.

Passing

Deceptive media

SB 2687 SD 1

Prohibits a person from distributing, or entering into an agreement with another person to distribute, “materially deceptive media” unless the media contains a disclaimer or the person is a broadcaster required to distribute the media pursuant to federal law or rule.

Public financing

HB 1845 HD 2

Increases the amount of partial public campaign financing available for all elective offices in Hawaii. Adjusts the minimum amount of qualifying contributions that candidates must receive to participate in the program.

Campaign funds

HB 1674 HD 1

Authorizes candidates and their candidate committees to donate residual campaign funds to the state general fund or to the real property tax general fund of any Hawaii county.

Deepfakes

HB 1766 HD 1

Prohibits the distribution of electioneering communications before an election that a person knows or should have known are deceptive and fraudulent deepfakes of a candidate or party.

Contributions ban

HB 2184 HD1

Prohibits contributions from persons convicted or found in violation of various campaign finance, ethical or lobbying offenses.

Public financing

SB 2381 SD 2

Establishes a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices beginning with the 2028 general election year.

“Disaster” solicitations

HB 2072 HD 1

Requires solicitations that reference disasters to include a disclosure. Violators guilty of a Class C felony.

Excess contributions

SB 2213

Excess contributions of more than $100 in cash from a single person during an election period go into Hawaii election campaign fund if not returned to the contributor within 30 days.

Foreign ban

SB 3243 SD 1

Prohibits foreign entities and foreign-influenced business entities from making contributions, expenditures, electioneering communications or donations for election purposes.

FAILING

Term limits

HB 1703

Proposes a constitu­tional amendment to require term limits on state legislators.

Session contributions

SB 2212, HB 1847

Would prohibit state and county elected officials from soliciting and accepting campaign contributions during any regular session or special session of the state Legislature.

Campaign funds

SB 627 HD 2

Allows an election candidate, treasurer or candidate committee to use campaign funds for the candidate’s child care and vital household dependent care costs under certain conditions.

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PUBLIC SAFETY

PASSING

COVID-19 reporting

HB 2577 HD 1

Authorizes the Department of Health to require the Department of Education to report coronavirus disease 2019 potential outbreaks or other public health emergencies and related information in a manner most appropriate to public health and safety, as determined by DOH; repeals the requirement to publish the report on DOE’s website.

Dangerous dogs

SB 2692 SD 1, HB 2058 HD 1

Establishes regulations and consequences for dog owners whose dogs cause harm to others and allows the impoundment of those dangerous dogs under specific circumstances.

Feral chickens

HB 2046 HD 2

Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture and counties to collaborate on feral chicken management projects including mitigating the impacts of feral chickens on native habitats and ecosystems.

Opioid preparedness

HB 2253 HD 2

Authorizes the Department of Health to require all restaurants and hotel establishments to maintain an opioid antagonist inventory and allows law enforcement officers to carry an opioid antagonist while on duty.

Ammo possession

SB 2845 SD 2

Prohibits a person from selling ammunition to a person under the age of 21 and prohibits a person under the age of 21 from owning, possessing or controlling ammunition.

Alcohol limitations

SB 2384

Lowers the blood alcohol concentration threshold for driving while under the influence of alcohol to .05 from .08.

Pedestrian safety

SB 2630 SD 1

Authorizes pedestrians to act contrary to the statewide traffic code when a pedestrian carefully and reasonably determines that there is no immediate danger of a collision with a moving vehicle.

Silver alert

HB 1774 HD 2, SB 2305 SD 2

Establishes a silver-alert program within the Department of Law Enforcement to help locate and safeguard missing persons who are 60 years of age or older, cognitively impaired or developmentally disabled.

Dementia training

HB 1773 HD 1

Requires the law enforcement standards board to develop training materials related to the recognition and signs of Alzheimer’s disease and related types of dementia and requires law enforcement officers to review training materials for at least one hour per year.

Sexual abuse

HB 1968 HD 2, SB 2601

Extends the time frame during which a civil lawsuit for childhood sexual abuse occurring on or after July 1 can be initiated. Gives the court the authority to mandate training in trauma-informed response for personnel associated with legal entities.

Wildfire mitigation

SB 2091 SD 2

Requires telecommunication companies to share details about power line outages with emergency response offices. Requires electrical utilities to create wildfire mitigation plans and deenergizing protocols to reduce wildfire risks.

FAILING

School loiterers

HB 1524, SB 2099

Prohibits loitering on school premises and public areas within a 200-foot radius of a school.

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HOUSING

PASSING

Urban density

SB 3202 SD 2, HB 1630 HD 1

Allows two or more homes on lots zoned for residential use in urban districts regardless of county zoning limits.

Teacher subsidies

HB 2514 HD 1

Provides qualifying teachers with rent or mortgage payment subsidies up to $500 a month for up to two years based on eligibility that includes an income limit and teaching at certain schools.

Zoning exemptions

HB 2007 HD 3

Allows religious, educational and medical institutions to build housing on land not zoned for residential use but in the state urban district under certain conditions.

SB 2948 SD 2

Allows residential uses on land zoned for commercial use under conditions that include no ground-floor residences.

Affordability exemption

SB 2029 SD 2

Exempts new housing projects from affordable- housing requirements if they are restricted in perpetuity for use by Hawaii residents who do not own any other real property.

ADU loans

HB 2548 HD 3

Offers state-funded loans of up to $300,000 for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units on their property under a program run through financial institutions.

FAILING

ADU subsidies

HB 1730

Provides subsidies up to $75,000 to private property owners on Maui to build accessory dwelling units and a four-year general excise tax exemption on rental income.

SB 2032

Establishes an ADU construction grant program.

Sale moratorium

HB 2203, SB 2999

Temporarily bans purchases of residential property by people who are not current and former Hawaii residents until the governor’s emergency proclamation on affordable housing expires.

Land use

HB 676 HD 1 SD 2 CD 2

Lets counties change state land-use district boundaries for parcels between 15 and 100 acres with some limitations instead of the state Land Use Commission.

Housing Department

SB 2028 SD 1

Consolidates several state agencies dealing with housing into a new Department of Housing to reduce redundancy and bureaucracy.

TOD density

SB 2025

Permits high housing density for “transit-­oriented development” on state-owned land within a half-mile of any elevated mass transit station.

DHHL funding

SB 3213

Allocates 1% of the state transient accommodations tax to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to build affordable housing for beneficiaries.

HB 2075

Appropriates $600 mil­- lion for DHHL to develop homesteads for beneficiaries in addition to $600 million appropriated in 2022.

100,000 homes

SB 2021

Requires the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to identify state land within a half-mile of any rail station that is most suitable for building at least 100,000 housing units.

Low-cost housing

HB 2324 HD 1, SB 2584

Appropriates funds for housing for homeless and low-income people.

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WILDFIRES

PASSING

Recovery Commission

HB 2696 HD 1

Establishes the Lahaina Recovery Oversight Commission within the Department of Accounting and General Services to oversee and guide the recovery of Lahaina.

Redevelopment board

SB 3381 SD 2

Establishes an elected board of West Maui residents to govern Lahaina’s redevelopment with support from the Hawaii Community Development Authority.

Relief fund

HB 2700 HD 3, SB 3344 SD 2

Establishes the Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund and Corporation to provide compensation for prop­erty damage resulting from catastrophic wildfires in the state.

Housing recovery

SB 2836 SD 2

Establishes a state and county interagency council to coordinate and facilitate housing recovery initiatives on Maui.

Forecast system

SB 2284 SD 2

Establishes a two-year University of Hawaii program to develop a wildfire forecast system for the state using artificial intelligence.

Fire marshal

HB 1843 HD 2, SB 2085

Establishes a state fire marshal to direct fire protection efforts statewide.

Fire mitigation

SB 2842 SD 2

Establishes a working group within the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to advise state agencies on wildfire safety and prevention efforts.

Air monitoring

HB 1839 HD 2

Appropriates funds for long-term monitoring of air quality for Lahaina and Kula communities affected by the Aug. 8 wildfires.

Nonprofit grants

SB 2143 SD 1

Appropriates funds to provide grants to nonprofits for wildfire preparedness and mitigation programming awarded by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

DLNR resources

HB 1841 HD 2

Appropriates funds to DLNR to expand personnel, equipment and projects supporting wildfire emergency response work.

FAILING

Helicopter use

HB 1564, SB 2808 SD 1

Establishes a state firefighting helicopter program to help counties fight wildfires.

Power lines

HB 2169

Prohibits the construction of overhead high-voltage electric transmission lines and requires the state Public Utilities Commission to direct certain public utilities to underground all such existing lines.

Firebreak mandate

HB 1823, SB 2313

Requires certain owners and occupants of properties in fire hazard areas to maintain firebreaks and establishes a state fire fuel reduction project.

Housing incentive

SB 3105

Offers one-time amnesty on penalties and prosecution for short-term rental operators evading taxes if they shift to long-term rental use with certain conditions, while also offering conditional tax incentives for the sale of such properties.

Hazard map

HB 2766, SB 3326 SD 1

Requires DLNR to create and annually update a wildfire hazard map and requires private and public property owners to trim grasses within certain proximities of public rights of way and utility lines.

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MISCELLANEOUS

PASSING

Afghanistan, Iraq plates

SB 2731 SD 1

Creates special number license plates to honor veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Convention naming

SB 3006 SD 2

Authorizes the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority to sell or lease naming rights of the Hawai‘i Convention Center facility.

Tourism app

HB 2563 HD 2

Requires the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority to develop and publish, through a contract with a third party, a mobile app that includes all online application processes, including the collection of any applicable reservation fees, to acquire a reservation to conduct recreational and commercial activities that are regulated by or under the jurisdiction of a state or county agency.

“Kimchi Day”

HB 1950

Designates Nov. 22 of each year as “Kimchi Day.”

License okina

HB 1861 HD 2

Requires license plates issued on or after Jan. 1 to include the okina in the word “Hawai‘i.” Authorizes the use of all uppercase letters, all lowercase letters or initial capital letters for the words “Hawai‘i” and “Aloha State” in motor vehicle license plates.

“World Peace Day”

HB 1780 HD 1

Designates Sept. 21 of each year as “World Peace Day.”

Pet in vehicles

SB 2561 SD 2

Prohibits intentionally leaving or confining pet animals in a vehicle under conditions that endanger their health, safety or well-being. Permits law enforcement officers, animal control officers and firefighters to enter an unattended vehicle to protect the health, safety or well-being of a pet animal that is endangered by being left or confined in an unattended vehicle. Allows private citizens to rescue a pet animal that has been left in an unattended vehicle under certain circumstances.

FAILING

Stadium advertising

SB 3197 SD 1

Exempts billboards and outdoor advertising devices within the stadium facility, including outdoor advertising devices for naming the stadium facility under certain conditions.

Healthy environment

HB 1528

Proposes a constitutional amendment that guarantees people the right to a clean and healthy environment; the control of pollution; and the conservation, protection and enhancement of the natural, native, cultural, scenic and healthful qualities of the environment.

Resort fees

SB 2993

Prohibits any operator, transient accommodations broker or person from offering, listing, advertising and displaying a rate that does not include all resort fees.

HTA

SB 1522 SD 2 HD 2

Repeals the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and would instead establish an Office of Destination Management within the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

HB 1375 HD 3 SD 3

Dissolves the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and the board of directors for the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and establishes an Office of Tourism and Destination Management within the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

HB 1517

Reestablishes the tourism special fund to be expended by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and allocates revenues from the transient accommodations tax.