HB 2046 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE ʻŌLELO HAWAIʻI COMMISSION.

Summary

Establishes and appropriates funds for the ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Commission to coordinate and promote initiatives that support the use of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. Sunsets 12/2/2030. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

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 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2046_HD1 → HB2046_HD2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This revision updates the bill's internal tracking numbers and dates while clarifying the commission's structure and membership. The most significant change is the explicit addition of 'office of the governor' to the commission's coordinating duties, ensuring the executive branch is formally included in language promotion efforts. The membership section was reorganized to distinguish between permanent members and those invited to participate, adding specific roles for a Hawaiian Language Lexicon Committee representative and other stakeholders.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include the office of the governor in the commission's coordination duties, and the commission's membership structure was refined to separate permanent seats from advisory participants.

DEFINITION

Added 'office of the governor' to the definition of 'Office' in the definitions section.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the commission's duties to explicitly state it coordinates efforts with the 'office of the governor' rather than just the 'office'.

ELIGIBILITY

Restructured the commission membership section to list permanent members first, followed by a new subsection for invited participants.

Added a new permanent member category for a representative from the Hawaiian Language Lexicon Committee.

Added a new invited participant category for other subject matter stakeholders determined by the chair.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill tracking numbers, page counts, and revision dates to reflect the second hearing version.

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 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from HWN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3381) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HWN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in HWN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Richards, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara, Keohokalole.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HWN has scheduled a public hearing on 03-24-26 2:05PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to HWN, WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 346).

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) Kong, Pierick excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 26, 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; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 582-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Hashem, Sayama, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Kahaloa.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

29 primary · 0 co-sponsors