HB 1817 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO PROTECTING HAWAII'S FISHERIES.

Summary

Requires the Board of Land and Natural Resources to adopt rules no later than June 30, 2030, establishing a statewide daily bag limit for ʻamaʻama during the open season; provided that the rules shall apply only to areas without management plans as of the effective date of the rules. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB1817 → HB1817_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to extend the deadline for establishing statewide bag limits for ʻamaʻama from 2027 to 2030, allowing more time for the Board of Land and Natural Resources to develop regulations. The amendment also clarifies that these new rules will only apply to fishing areas that do not already have specific management plans in place, preventing conflicts with existing local regulations. Additionally, the effective date of the Act was set to July 1, 3000, likely as a placeholder or error in the markup, though the substantive deadline change is the primary policy shift.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by adding an exemption for areas that already have management plans, ensuring the new statewide rules do not override existing local protections.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the Board to adopt statewide bag limit rules was extended from June 30, 2027, to June 30, 2030.

The Act's effective date was changed to July 1, 3000, which appears to be a placeholder or clerical error.

ELIGIBILITY

A new provision limits the application of the statewide bag limit rules to areas that do not have existing management plans as of the rules' effective date.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 710-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Poepoe.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

8 primary · 1 co-sponsor