HB 2344 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES.

Summary

Establishes a temporary, independent Public School Realignment and Closure Commission to develop and recommend a comprehensive package of school consolidations, realignments, and closures based on the federal Base Realignment and Closure model. Requires reports to the Legislature. Requires an expedited approval process for the recommended school consolidations, realignments, and closures. Appropriates funds. (CD1)

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Jan 26, 2026 Signed Jul 15, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2344_SD1 → HB2344_SD2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised to update the sponsor and contact information, correct formatting inconsistencies in the text, and add specific legal definitions for 'Commission', 'public school', and 'public school facilities' to clarify that charter schools are excluded from the bill's scope. The revision also changed the implementation language from 'shall' to 'may' in Section 3, giving the Board of Education discretion rather than a mandatory requirement to act by the deadline.

Scope change

The bill's scope was clarified by explicitly excluding charter schools from the definition of public schools and public school facilities, ensuring the realignment process applies only to traditional department schools.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata including the sponsor name, contact person, page count, and version dates.

Corrected inconsistent spacing and punctuation throughout the document to improve readability and standard formatting.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'Commission', 'public school', and 'public school facilities' to ensure consistent legal interpretation.

SCOPE

Explicitly stated that charter schools are excluded from the definitions of public schools and facilities covered by this Act.

REQUIREMENT

Changed Section 3 from a mandatory requirement ('shall') to discretionary authority ('may') for the Board of Education to implement recommendations by the specified date.

FISCAL

Updated the summary description of the appropriation to state that 'moneys' are appropriated rather than specifying a dollar amount.

HB2344 → HB2344_CD1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill revision significantly expands the composition of the new Public School Realignment and Closure Commission by adding five new voting members and two non-voting ex officio members, while removing the Governor's ability to appoint three members. The process is also streamlined to be binding without requiring a final legislative vote, and the timeline for implementation is extended to October 2029. Additionally, the initial funding appropriation was increased from $100,000 to $150,000.

Scope change

The bill's scope now includes explicit consultation with the Board of Education and requires the commission to consider academic needs, special education services, and logistical feasibility in its evaluations. It also clarifies that charter schools are excluded from the definition of 'public school' for the purposes of this act.

ELIGIBILITY

The commission's membership structure changed from nine members (three appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker) to nine voting members plus two non-voting ex officio members (Comptroller and Superintendent of Education), with appointments now split among the Governor, Senate President, Minority Leader of Senate, House Speaker, and Minority Leader of House.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements mandate that the commission formally consult with the Board of Education during criteria development and evaluation, and specifically consider the academic needs of students and logistical feasibility of transition plans.

The approval process was simplified; recommendations in the final report are now immediately binding without requiring a separate concurrent resolution vote by the Legislature or Governor.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the commission to file its final report was extended from January 2028 to October 2028, and the deadline for implementing recommendations was extended from July 1, 2028, to October 1, 2029.

FISCAL

The initial appropriation for the commission's operational costs was increased from $100,000 to $150,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added to clarify that 'public school' and 'public school facilities' do not include charter schools.

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

Jun 26, 2026

Vetoed

Notice of intent to veto (Gov. Msg. No. 1264)

lower

Jun 26, 2026

Vetoed

Notice of Intent to veto dated 06/26/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1264)

upper

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Iwamoto voting no (1) and none excused (0).

lower

May 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Fukunaga. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Elefante). Excused, 0 (none).

upper

May 1, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 149-26).

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 149-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Hashimoto; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) DeCorte.

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, Yamashita, La Chica, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 4:00PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 1:30PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-30-26 1:34PM; Conference Room 229.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 682) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Fukunaga. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Elefante). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 9 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Hashimoto, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 3 No(es): Senator(s) Elefante, Inouye, Fevella; 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 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3382) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga.

upper

Mar 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-18-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDU, WAM.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 205).

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Iwamoto voting no (1) and Representative(s) Perruso, Sayama excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 490-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Evslin, Kapela, Kila, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Amato, Olds; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Garrett.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 6

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

15 primary · 0 co-sponsors