SB 298 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES.

SB 298 would allocate additional state funds to the Department of Human Services to expand Medicaid in-home care services. This directly affects Medicaid beneficiaries requiring in-home support, such as elderly or disabled individuals, by increasing access to these services. The bill's key provision is a funding increase for existing in-home care programs under Medicaid, effective July 1, 3000. It is currently pending committee review in the Health and Human Services committee.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2025 Last action Apr 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB298_HD1 → SB298_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to change the bill type from a House draft to a Senate draft, updating associated metadata and author names. The most significant substantive change is the effective date of the funding appropriation, which was moved from the distant future (July 1, 3000) to December 31, 2050, likely to align with a specific fiscal year or legislative session. Additionally, the text was updated to clarify that services include both registered and licensed practical nurses, and the report title was pluralized to 'Appropriations'.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the specific services covered was slightly clarified to explicitly include licensed practical nurses alongside registered nurses, while the primary change to applicability is the new effective date.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the Medicaid in-home services appropriation was changed from July 1, 3000, to December 31, 2050.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated to reflect the Senate version (SD1) instead of the House version (HD1), including updated author names and revision numbers.

The report title was changed from 'Appropriation' to 'Appropriations' to match the pluralized nature of the funding.

DEFINITION

The list of covered in-home provider types was updated to explicitly name 'licensed practical nurse' alongside 'registered nurse'.

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 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-23-25 3:30PM; Conference Room 329.

upper

Apr 4, 2025

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 4, 2025

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 461).

upper

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Woodson excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Alcos, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hussey, Ward.

lower

Mar 18, 2025

Committee

Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1339) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Olds, Amato, Chun, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Mar 6, 2025

Committee

Referred to HSH, FIN, referral sheet 19

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 124) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 27, 2025

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, Aquino, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-27-25 10:30AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 565) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Hashimoto, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 02-10-25 1:20PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to HHS, WAM.

upper

Jan 15, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 14, 2025

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

12 primary · 0 co-sponsors