HB 2391 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO TAXATION.

HB 2391 creates a temporary sales tax exemption for school supplies, meaning businesses selling these items would not collect the usual general excise tax during the holiday period. This directly affects consumers purchasing school supplies and the businesses selling them, as the bill requires retailers to pass any tax savings directly to shoppers. The key provision is a time-limited tax holiday where the state waives the sales tax on qualifying items, but businesses must lower prices for customers rather than keeping the savings. The policy aims to reduce costs for families buying school essentials during the holiday period. (Note: This is a policy change, not a procedural bill.)
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 27, 2026 Last action Mar 10, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB2391 HB2391_HD1 · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill was amended to clarify the legislative findings and purpose, specifically separating the recognition of other states' tax holidays from the specific purpose of this Act. The most significant change is the addition of a new exemption for the resale of items, ensuring the tax holiday only applies to end consumers and not to businesses reselling goods. Additionally, the effective date was set to July 1, 3000, likely as a placeholder to allow for future legislative review before implementation.
Scope change
The bill's scope was narrowed by explicitly excluding the resale of items from the tax holiday exemption, preventing businesses from using the holiday to resell goods at a tax-free rate.
DEFINITION

Added a new subsection (3) to the list of exclusions, stating that the tax holiday does not apply to the resale of items.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date from 'upon approval' to 'July 1, 3000', indicating the law will not take effect until a future date is determined.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized the legislative findings and purpose sections to improve clarity and separate general observations from the specific intent of the bill.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
18
Key actions
5
Committee
7
Mar 10, 2026
Committee
Referred to EDU/CPN, WAM.
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Introduced
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 208).
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) 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, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 514-26), recommending referral to FIN.
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Tam, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
lower
Feb 12, 2026
Committee
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 202-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to ECD.
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Committee
Referred to EDN, ECD, FIN, referral sheet 6
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
lower
Jan 27, 2026
Introduced
Pending introduction.
lower
8 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors