HB 304 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE.

Summary

Requires that the Hawaiian version of a law be held binding if the law in question was originally drafted in Hawaiian and then translated into English and the law has not been later amended, codified, recodified, or reenacted in English. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

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What changed between versions

HB304 → HB304_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated to reflect its first reading in the House of Representatives (HD1) and includes significant changes to the official language clause. The most critical substantive change is the addition of a condition stating that the Hawaiian version of a law remains binding only if the law has not been later amended, codified, recodified, or reenacted in English. Additionally, the effective date of the act was changed from immediate approval to a distant future date of July 1, 3000.

Scope change

The scope of the binding authority for the Hawaiian version of laws was narrowed by adding a condition that excludes laws that have been subsequently amended or reenacted in English.

REQUIREMENT

Added a condition that the Hawaiian version of a law is binding only if the law has not been later amended, codified, recodified, or reenacted in English.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date of the act from immediate approval to July 1, 3000.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata to reflect the House of Representatives first reading (HD1) and adjusted page counts.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 13, 2025

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 625) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Jan 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Perruso, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, Todd.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

8 primary · 0 co-sponsors