SB 3043 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO HUNTING.

Summary

Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to adopt rules regarding safe and humane hunting practices of feral pigs and hunting dog welfare standards. Establishes requirements for the hunter education program instruction. Includes the use of dogs to torture wildlife or game mammals as torture in the second degree. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB3043 → SB3043_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was updated from a Senate version to a Senate District 1 amendment, changing the bill's effective date to July 1, 2050, and refining the legislative findings to distinguish between responsible hunting and intentional cruelty. The amendment also adjusted the formatting of the hunter education requirements and reorganized the list of prohibited acts regarding dog restraint and assistance in cruelty.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains focused on hunting regulations and animal welfare, but the effective date was significantly delayed from immediate approval to July 1, 2050.

TIMELINE

The bill's effective date was changed from immediate approval to July 1, 2050.

REQUIREMENT

The legislative findings were rewritten to clarify that while traditional hunting is recognized, illegal or egregious acts by bad actors are not culturally justified.

The list of prohibited acts was renumbered and reorganized, specifically modifying the clauses regarding dog restraint and assistance in cruelty.

TECHNICAL

The hunter education section was updated to include bracketed text indicating optional or pending statutory references.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from WLA/AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2623) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC/WAM.

upper

Feb 11, 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., Chang, Lamosao; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Inouye ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) DeCorte; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA/AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-26 1:00PM; CR 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to WLA/AEN, JDC/WAM.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors