HB 2005 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO LANGUAGE ACCESS.

HB 2005 establishes a statewide language access education and workforce development program at the University of Hawaii, funded through state appropriations. The program aims to train workers in language access services, directly impacting the University of Hawaii system and future state workforce development efforts. It requires the university to develop training curricula and implement the program, with funding allocated for this purpose. The bill is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 3000 (a date likely reflecting a typo in the official record).

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Apr 21, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2005_HD2 → HB2005_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from a House Draft (HD2) to a Senate Draft (SD1), updating metadata and refining the program's description to explicitly include 'health care' and 'opportunities' alongside existing categories. The most significant substantive change is the effective date, which was moved from July 1, 3000, to July 31, 2055, likely to align with a future fiscal year or specific legislative session. The report title was also updated to reflect the establishment of new positions rather than just the program itself.

Scope change

The scope of the program's description was slightly expanded to explicitly list 'health care' and 'opportunities' in the list of services and activities, though the core mandate remains the same.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 3000, to July 31, 2055.

FISCAL

The funding language was slightly reworded to specify that funds are for the 'establishment' of full-time equivalent positions, clarifying the use of appropriated money.

DEFINITION

The list of sectors requiring language access was updated to explicitly include 'health care' (previously 'healthcare') and 'social services'.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for participants to complete an internship was rephrased to 'opportunities through the hele imua internship program' for clarity.

TECHNICAL

Administrative details such as the bill author, revision numbers, and template versions were updated to reflect the Senate Draft status.

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

Amendments

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 650) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..

upper

Apr 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-06-26 10:32AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3135) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Fukunaga.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-16-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDU, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 74).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kusch.

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 639-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Kong, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

Reported from HED (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 122-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to LAB.

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HED recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Kila, La Chica, Olds, Woodson, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to HED, LAB, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors