SB 2446 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY.

SB 2446 increases the number of associate judges on the Intermediate Court of Appeals from six to seven and appropriates funds for this change. This bill directly affects the court's staffing structure by adding one judicial position. The key mechanism is a simple numerical adjustment to the court's authorized positions, funded through the state budget. It does not alter judicial procedures, case handling, or substantive law.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Last action May 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2446_SD1 → SB2446_SD2 · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was amended to change the effective date of the new judicial appointment from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2050. This significant delay postpones the implementation of increasing the number of associate judges on the Intermediate Court of Appeals from six to seven.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the number of judges remains unchanged, but the timeline for when these new judges can take office has been extended by 24 years.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the increase in associate judges was changed from July 1, 2026, 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

Amendments

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 5:40 PM; Conference Room 325.

upper

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 2:00PM in conference room 325.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-30-26 2:00PM; Conference Room 325.

upper

Apr 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-29-26 2:00PM; CR 325.

upper

Apr 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 2:00PM in conference room 325.

lower

Apr 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Monday 04-27-26 2:00PM in conference room 325.

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-26 3:10PM; Conference Room 325.

upper

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-23-26 2:35PM; Conference Room 325.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 661).

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick voting no (2) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Apr 7, 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, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa.

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1417-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 19, 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, Poepoe, Hashem, Kahaloa, Takayama, Cochran, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Sayama.

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 15

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 17) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Kidani). Transmitted to House.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 11 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Richards.

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-19-26 10:30AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2204) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-06-26 9:00AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to JDC, WAM.

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors