HB 1939 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO TAXATION.

Summary

Amends the Motion Picture, Digital Media, and Film Production Income Tax Credit (film tax credit) by providing additional credits to qualified productions that have a workforce of at least eighty per cent local hires in the first taxable year or second consecutive taxable year and meet other specific requirements, then increasing the local workforce threshold to eighty-two per cent in the third or fourth consecutive taxable year and eighty-five per cent in the fifth consecutive taxable year, that the additional credit is claimed; requiring independent third-party certification of qualified production costs for all film productions claiming the film tax credit; authorizing DBEDT to waive the credit cap per qualified production for one qualified production each fiscal year; and requiring the Hawaii Film Office to submit an annual report to the Legislature. Sunsets 1/1/2033. Effective 7/1/3050. (SD1)

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1939_HD2 → HB1939_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was updated to reflect its progression from the House to the Senate, resulting in minor formatting adjustments and a critical change to the effective date. The most significant policy shift is the extension of the bill's effective date from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 3050, ensuring the tax credit program remains active for a much longer period. Additionally, the definition of 'Hawaii Film Office' was added to clarify the specific agency responsible for oversight.

Scope change

The bill's applicability timeline was extended significantly, changing the effective date from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 3050, while the repeal date remains January 1, 2033.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 3050, extending the duration of the tax credit program.

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'Hawaii Film Office' was added to clarify it as the film industry branch within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and capitalization updates were made, such as changing 'department of business...' to 'Department of Business...' and adjusting the title of the final report requirement.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3197) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Fukunaga, Kim, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT has scheduled a public hearing on 03-19-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDT, WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 319).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 427-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Holt, Tam, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to ECD, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

17 primary · 0 co-sponsors