HB 2489 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.

Summary

Appropriates moneys to establish a bachelor's degree program in American Sign Language interpretation at the University of Hawaii Manoa campus with a multi-year plan to include a master's degree program for interpreter training. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Last action Mar 10, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB2489 → HB2489_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to change the effective date from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 3000, effectively deferring the implementation of the American Sign Language interpreter training program. Additionally, the appropriation language was updated from 'moneys' to 'funds' and the bill title was updated to reflect House District 1.

Scope change

The bill's implementation timeline was drastically altered, delaying the program launch by over 700 years, while the substantive scope of the program remains unchanged.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 3000, meaning the program will not begin until the year 3000.

FISCAL

The term 'moneys' in the appropriation section was replaced with 'funds', a minor terminology adjustment.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated to include 'HD1' and the author name was changed from 'clerk2' to 'clerk3'.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDU/HHS, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 112).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) 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: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hussey, Yamashita.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Reported from HED (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 301-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HED recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Olds, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 4 Excused: Representative(s) Kila, La Chica, Woodson, Souza.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to HED, FIN, referral sheet 6

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

12 primary · 0 co-sponsors