SB 1315 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO ABOLITION OF JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY FOR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES IN HIGHWAY-RELATED CIVIL ACTIONS.

Summary

Abolishes joint and several liability for government entities in claims and cases relating to the maintenance and design of highways. Makes government entities liable only for the percentage share of the damages actually attributable. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 21, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB1315 → SB1315_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill amends Hawaii's highway liability laws to abolish joint and several liability for government entities, meaning the state will only be responsible for its specific percentage of fault rather than the full amount of damages. The changes clarify that exceptions for retaining joint liability apply only to specific scenarios like injury/death cases or design professional claims, while removing a previous exception for highway maintenance cases. The effective date for these changes is set to July 1, 2050.

Scope change

The bill narrows the scope of joint and several liability exceptions, removing a specific carve-out for highway maintenance cases that previously allowed joint liability to remain in those situations.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed an exception that previously allowed joint and several liability to be retained for tort claims related to the maintenance and design of highways.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that joint and several liability is abolished for all highway-related claims except for specific scenarios involving injury/death or design professionals.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the new liability rules to July 1, 2050.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC.

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from TCA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 620) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Feb 11, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TCA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TCA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Elefante, Kanuha, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TCA has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-25 3:01PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 27, 2025

Committee

Referred to TCA, JDC.

upper

Jan 23, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors