SB 2603 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE HAWAII SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.

SB 2603 designates the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra as the official State of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. The bill requires the orchestra to submit annual reports to the Hawaii Legislature and appropriates state funds for its operations. This legislation formalizes the orchestra's relationship with the state government through official designation and funding.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Mar 24, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2603_HD1 → SB2603_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the designation of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra to the 'State of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra' and adjusts the effective date of the legislation from the distant future (July 1, 3000) to July 1, 2026. The text was also refined to clarify that the orchestra's community programs serve a public purpose and to ensure the exemption from certain state fund regulations applies correctly to the orchestra's operations and its contractors.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on designating the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and appropriating funds, but the effective date change means the designation and funding provisions will now apply starting in 2026 rather than in the year 3000.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2026, allowing the new designation and funding to take effect in the near future.

DEFINITION

The name of the orchestra in the report title was updated to reflect the new official designation: 'State of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra'.

REQUIREMENT

The legislative findings section was slightly rewritten to more clearly state that the orchestra's community initiatives serve a public purpose to the State.

A minor grammatical correction was made to the text regarding the exemption from Chapter 42F, changing 'Statutes' to 'Statues' in the original text (likely a typo fix in the source) or clarifying the reference to the statute.

The requirement for annual reports to the Legislature was removed from the summary section in the Senate version, though the substantive requirement likely remains in the body of the bill.

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

Mar 24, 2026

Committee

Reported from CAA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1356-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on CAA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Kapela, Kong, Garrett, Lee, M., Sayama, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to CAA, FIN, referral sheet 16

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 71) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-25-26 10:55AM; 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 WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2513) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 02-04-26 1:00PM; CR 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to WLA, WAM.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

4 primary · 1 co-sponsor