HB 2561 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO FERAL ANIMALS.

Summary

Declares feral chickens on public lands as a public nuisance and controllable pest in a city with a population of three hundred thousand or more. Prohibits supporting feral chickens on public lands, including by feeding chickens. Prohibits the abandonment of chickens on public lands or on private property without consent. Establishes fines and authorized enforcing agencies. Appropriates funds for the receipt, handling, and humane disposition of feral chickens that have already been caught. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

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 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2561_HD1 → HB2561_HD2 · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to broaden the definition of feral chickens as a public nuisance rather than just a pest, clarifying that feeding them is prohibited regardless of location. It updated enforcement authority to apply to all cities instead of only those with large populations and refined fine structures to account for repeat offenses within a year. The appropriation section was expanded to cover the humane handling of captured chickens, while the effective date was moved to a future date and a new savings clause was added to protect existing rights.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from applying only to cities with a population of 300,000 or more to applying to all cities, and the definition of prohibited acts was broadened to explicitly include feeding feral chickens on any public land.

DEFINITION

Changed the classification of feral chickens from a 'controllable pest' to a 'public nuisance and controllable pest' to strengthen the legal basis for nuisance abatement.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded the prohibition on supporting feral chickens to explicitly include feeding them on public lands.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the population threshold for cities, allowing enforcement in any city, and clarified that enforcement applies to all cities.

Updated fine structures to distinguish between first violations, second violations within one year, and third or subsequent violations within one year.

FISCAL

Expanded the purpose of the appropriated funds to include the receipt, handling, and humane disposition of captured chickens.

TIMELINE

Added a savings clause stating the Act does not affect rights or penalties that matured before its effective date.

Moved the effective date to July 1, 3000, and removed a previous specific effective date.

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 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN/WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 03-20-26 1:03PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to AEN/WLA, WAM/JDC.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 117).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Amato, Garcia, Muraoka voting no (4) 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: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Yamashita, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Hartsfield, Perruso, Gedeon; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Alcos; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none 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. 735-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 18, 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, Belatti, Kahaloa, Takayama, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Poepoe, Cochran, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama.

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to AGR, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 11

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 173-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Chun, Kusch, Kahaloa, Perruso, Quinlan, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Lowen.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to AGR, WAL, JHA, referral sheet 6

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

23 primary · 0 co-sponsors