Hawaii

2026 Regular Session·1,098 bills·Adjourned May 8, 2026

Bills

Relating To Pretrial Release.

Requires certain factors to be considered when determining a defendant's financial ability to afford bail. Effective 1/1/2027. (CD1)

Relating To Health.

Excludes drug testing products from the definition of drug paraphernalia under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Removes items that are used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance from the law prohibiting drug paraphernalia under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Restricts the law prohibiting drug paraphernalia under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act to only prohibit items that are used for the manufacturing, compounding, converting, production, processing, or preparing of controlled substances. Repeals language permitting the Department of Health to inspect a qualifying patient's medical records and suspend or revoke the ability of certain health care providers to issue written certifications under certain circumstances. (CD1)

Relating To Workforce Development.

Establishes a five-year Agriculture and Biosecurity Workforce Development Pilot Program within the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii's Leeward Community College and the Department of Human Resources Development. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Sunsets 6/30/2031. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Relating To An Early Learning Apprenticeship Grant Program.

Establishes an Early Learning Apprenticeship Grant Program to be administered by the University of Hawaii to provide financial support for early learning program service providers in the State to participate in state- or federally-approved early learning apprenticeship programs. Requires an annual report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/31/2050. (SD1)

Relating To The Hawaii Employer-union Health Benefits Trust Fund.

Allows impasses and disputes relating to the amounts of State and county contributions to the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF) to be resolved by arbitration. Repeals the prohibition against strikes by members of bargaining units on the issue of the amounts of State and county contributions to the EUTF. Effective 3/22/2075. (SD1)

Relating To Agriculture.

Establishes a Conservation Agriculture and Soil Health Incentive Program within the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. Requires an annual report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Relating To Food Security.

Establishes and appropriates funds in the form of grants for the Hawaii Farm to Families Program under the Department of Human Services to alleviate food shortages in the State. Requires reports to the Legislature. (SD1)

Relating To Energy Assistance.

Establishes the Hawaii Home Energy Assistance Program within the Department of Human Services to assist qualifying households in paying their energy bills. Requires the Public Benefits Fee Administrator of the Public Utilities Commission to provide certain information and assistance to recipients of the program. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Relating To Eviction Records.

Requires the Judiciary to conduct a study to determine the ability, best approaches, various issues, and potential impacts of requiring courts to disassociate a residential tenant from an eviction proceeding brought by a landlord in certain circumstances. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD2)

Relating To Compassionate Release.

Establishes a protocol for compassionate release for certain ill or seriously debilitated incarcerated persons. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Relating To Agricultural Land.

Establishes one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) Hawaii Island Property Manager position within the Agribusiness Development Corporation. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Relating To Homelessness.

Requires DOH to submit a reorganization plan to the Legislature to consolidate the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions with the Homeless Programs Office under a single centralized entity. Specifies the contents of the reorganization plan and the dates by which the draft and final plan and timeline for reorganization must be submitted to the Legislature. Requires the consolidated entity to submit annual reports to the Legislature. Appropriate funds. Authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds for the Kauhale Initiative and related capital improvement projects. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Relating To Mental Health.

Expands the services eligible for Medicaid Prospective Payment System reimbursement to include certain services furnished by a federally qualified health center or rural health clinic and provided by mental health professionals under the clinical supervision of a licensed mental health professional. Requires the Department of Human Services to adopt rules for this purpose and seek federal approvals as necessary. Specifies that implementation is contingent upon and only to the extent approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Relating To The University Of Hawaii.

Requires the University of Hawaii to develop a facilities and student housing master plan. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/31/2050. (HD1)

Relating To Lei.

Requires and establishes benchmarks for each state executive agency to ensure that a certain percentage of lei purchased by that executive agency consists of lei made of natural objects and plant materials grown, harvested, and assembled in the State. Establishes labeling requirements for lei and lei materials. Requires the disclosure of the geographic origin for the plant materials and natural objects that comprise a lei or lei materials. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Relating To Off-site Construction.

Implements certain recommendations of the SPEED Task Force. Establishes a working group within the State Building Code Council to develop proposals for an off-site construction program. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2055. (SD1)

Relating To Health Insurance.

Establishes a 3-year Health Coverage Continuity Pilot Program within the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, to assist individuals who have lost Medicaid health insurance coverage and lack access to other health insurance options. Authorizes the Department of Human Services to contract with a nonprofit health insurer or community-based organization to operate the Pilot Program under certain circumstances. Authorizes the Department of Human Services to issue premium subsidies in certain circumstances. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates moneys. Sunsets 6/30/2029. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD2)

Relating To Agriculture.

Appropriates funds for the Area-Wide Fruit Fly Suppression Program. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Relating To Emergency Management.

Clarifies the types of events that constitute disasters and emergencies for the purposes of emergency management. Establishes the Hawaii Community Resilience Hub Program within the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to support the development of community-based resilience hubs across the State and leverage federal, philanthropic, and private-sector funding for disaster preparedness and climate resilience. Requires the Agency to identify locations on each island that can be used as state disaster response and mitigation hubs when a state of emergency is declared. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Appropriates moneys. Effective 7/1/2055. (SD2)

Relating To The University Of Hawaii Cancer Center.

Appropriates funds for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center's Hawaii Tumor Registry. Effective 7/31/2055. (SD1)

Relating To Mental Health.

Establishes the Mental Health Emerging Therapies Task Force within the University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine to prepare the State for the integration of breakthrough therapies, expansion of pathways for clinical trials and clinical research, and development of policy recommendations for safe, ethical, and culturally informed implementation of emerging therapies. Requires reports to the Legislature. Sunsets 6/30/2028. Effective 1/30/2050. (HD1)

Relating To Government.

Amends Act 289, SLH 2025, to replace the Senior Residence at Iwilei parcel with the Westridge parcel, repeal the designation of affected parcels as public lands, change the transfer date for the Alii Tower parcel to 12/31/2026, change the deadline for approval by the City and County of Honolulu to 12/31/2027, change the repeal date to 1/1/2028, and repeal reenactment language. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Relating To Taxation.

Establishes a family caregiver tax credit for nonpaid family caregivers. Requires the Department of Taxation to submit annual reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Applies to taxable years beginning after 12/31/2026. Effective 1/1/2050. (SD1)

Relating To Tax Credit For Research Activities.

Amends the tax credit for research activities by: allowing qualifying taxpayers to claim the credit for all qualified research expenses without regard to the amount of expenses for previous years; amending from March 31 to March 1 the deadline for qualified high technology businesses to submit to the Department of Business, Economic development, and Tourism written, certified statements identifying qualified expenditures and the tax amount of tax credits claimed in the previous taxable year; for any taxable year the annual aggregate cap is reached, requiring the credit to be divided between all qualified high technology businesses in proportion to the amount of qualified research expenses claimed; and requiring DBEDT to establish an annual application period and notify each qualified high technology business applicant of the credit amount certified. Applies to costs incurred beginning after 12/31/2025. Repeals the credit on 1/1/2029. Effective 7/1/3050. (SD2)

Relating To Agricultural Workforce Housing.

Requires state agencies that administer agricultural leases, licenses, development programs, or procurement involving agricultural products to award points or preferences to agricultural projects incorporating agricultural workforce housing. Requires the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to submit a report to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

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