SB 17 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO WILDFIRE MITIGATION.

Summary

Establishes the Wildfire Mitigation Working Group. Requires a report to the Legislature. Requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to provide administrative support to the working group. Appropriates funds. Revises the appropriations made by Act 302, SLH 2025. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 8, 2025 Last action Apr 16, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB17_SD1 → SB17_SD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill revision reorganizes the wildfire mitigation working group's goals into a clearer numbered list and expands the group's membership to include new stakeholders like ranchers, wildfire management organizations, and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners. It also updates the funding structure by revising specific job positions and operational budgets within the State Fire Marshal's office for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a broader range of community and industry representatives in the working group and explicitly revised the funding allocations for specific fire marshal positions and operational expenses.

REQUIREMENT

Reorganized the working group's deliverables from a single paragraph into a numbered list of seven distinct goals, clarifying the specific tasks the group must complete.

ELIGIBILITY

Added five new members to the working group, including representatives from the ranching industry, the Hawaii wildfire management organization, and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, to broaden the range of perspectives.

FISCAL

Revised the appropriations for the Office of the State Fire Marshal, adjusting specific dollar amounts for full-time equivalent positions (such as the State Fire Marshal and Deputy) and operational expenses for both 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill's report title to reflect the inclusion of position revisions and appropriations for the fire marshal.

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

Amendments

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 600).

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Apr 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1342-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to WAL, FIN, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 137) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-04-26 10:31AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from PSM/WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2563) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Chang.

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in PSM were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Fukunaga, Hashimoto, Inouye; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C., DeCorte.

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee on PSM has added the measure to decision making scheduled on 02-11-26 3:00PM; CR 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee on PSM has deleted the measure from decision making scheduled on 02-09-26 3:00PM; CR 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on PSM/WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 02-04-26 3:01PM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Committee

Re-Referred to PSM/WLA, WAM.

upper

Jan 16, 2025

Committee

Referred to PSM/WTL, WAM.

upper

Jan 15, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 8, 2025

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors