HB 2031 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

Summary

Establishes the Administrative Hearings Division within the Department of Transportation and transfers certain administrative hearing powers to the Division, including matters related to transportation network company permit appeals, automated red light camera and speed enforcement traffic citations, and commercial driver's license appeals. Specifies that a person aggrieved by an administrative decision related to red light camera and speed enforcement traffic citations may petition for judicial review. Allows authorized employees of the Department of Law Enforcement to review images produced by the automated red light camera and speed enforcement systems. Effective 7/1/3000. (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 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2031_HD2 → HB2031_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill updates the legislative version of a traffic enforcement bill, changing the bill number from HD2 to SD1 and adjusting associated metadata like author names and dates. The substantive legal text remains largely consistent, though minor formatting corrections were made to the text regarding right-of-way rules and citation requirements.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains unchanged; it continues to govern automated red light and speed enforcement systems in Hawaii.

TECHNICAL

The bill version was updated from House Draft 2 (HD2) to Senate Draft 1 (SD1), reflecting its progression through the legislative process.

Author names and metadata were updated to reflect the new Senate draft version, including changes to the bill number and revision dates.

Minor grammatical and formatting corrections were applied to the text, such as changing 'to (f)' to 'through (f)' and adjusting punctuation in traffic signal rules.

HB2031 → HB2031_HD1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill reorganizes the Department of Transportation by establishing a new Administrative Hearings Division to handle appeals for traffic citations, commercial driver's licenses, and other transportation matters. It also updates the legal framework for automated red light and speed enforcement systems, clarifying that fines cannot be used to pay for the equipment itself and ensuring these violations do not affect insurance rates. Additionally, the bill repeals outdated sections regarding law enforcement dashboard cameras, effectively removing those specific requirements from the statute.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the Department of Transportation by transferring functions previously held by the Department of Public Works and abolishing older commissions. It also shifts the administrative process for contesting traffic violations from the courts to a new internal division within the DOT.

REQUIREMENT

Establishes a new Administrative Hearings Division within the Department of Transportation to conduct hearings for traffic citations, commercial driver's license appeals, and other jurisdictional matters.

Repeals the statutory requirement for law enforcement agencies to equip vehicles with dashboard cameras, removing the mandate for video/audio recording during traffic stops.

FISCAL

Prohibits the Department of Transportation from using administrative penalties or revenue generated by automated red light and speed enforcement cameras to pay for the equipment or services.

ENFORCEMENT

Mandates that citations issued by automated red light and speed enforcement systems cannot be recorded on a person's traffic abstract or used to increase insurance premiums.

TIMELINE

Sets the effective date of the entire Act to July 1, 3000, with a two-year delay for implementing the new Administrative Hearings Division.

DEFINITION

Defines 'Director' as the head of the Department of Transportation and 'Reviewing entity' as a county police department or authorized law enforcement employee.

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 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3113) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC/WAM.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TRS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Elefante, Kanuha, Lee, C., DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS has rescheduled its public hearing to 03-17-26 3:00PM; CR 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 3:05PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRS, JDC/WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 76).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Garcia, Iwamoto, Souza voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 2, 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, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 732-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Cochran, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 211-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Miyake, Cochran, Evslin, Grandinetti, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRN, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

14 primary · 0 co-sponsors