HB 324 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO BABY BONDS.

Summary

Establishes the Wealth Building Working Group to develop a plan for the creation of a baby bonds program for the State to address intergenerational poverty and wealth inequality in Hawaii. 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

HB324 → HB324_HD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to rename the 'Baby Bonds Working Group' to the 'Wealth Building Working Group' to broaden its focus beyond just baby bonds to include other asset-building initiatives. The scope of the group's analysis was expanded to explicitly include Hawaii's existing college savings program and the Individual Development Account program. Additionally, the bill's effective date was changed from immediate approval to a distant future date of July 1, 3000, and the title was updated to reflect the new group name.

Scope change

The bill's scope was broadened by renaming the working group from 'Baby Bonds' to 'Wealth Building' and expanding its mandate to analyze other state asset-building programs like the HI529 Plan and IDA program, rather than focusing solely on baby bonds.

REQUIREMENT

The working group was renamed from 'Baby Bonds Working Group' to 'Wealth Building Working Group' to reflect a broader mission.

The group's duties were expanded to include an analysis of the HI529 college savings plan and the Individual Development Account program in addition to the Connecticut baby bonds program.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from 'upon approval' to 'July 1, 3000'.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and description were updated to reflect the new 'Wealth Building Working Group' name and the new effective date.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 11, 2025

Committee

Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 414) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Olds, Amato, Chun, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi, Alcos; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to HSH, 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