SB 3301 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE PROCEDURE FOR PAYMENT UNDER PROTEST LAWSUITS.

SB 3301 clarifies and adds procedural safeguards to Hawaii's existing law (HRS § 40-35) governing how individuals or businesses can seek refunds from the state when they dispute payments made under protest. The bill specifically aims to make the process clearer and more protective for those seeking to recover funds they believe were paid in error. It does not change the substance of the refund rules but focuses on improving the procedure for filing and processing such claims. This bill directly affects taxpayers who pay state fees or taxes and later contest those payments through a formal protest.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 30, 2026 Last action Feb 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB3301 → SB3301_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill update changes the bill's title to reflect its status as a Senate Draft (SD1) and updates the sponsor information. The substantive text clarifies that the Act adds procedural safeguards specifically for payments made to the State under protest, rather than just clarifying the statute itself. It also updates the bill's technical metadata, such as the revision number and template type, to reflect its new stage in the legislative process.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the procedure for payment under protest lawsuits under HRS 40-35, but the description of the Act's purpose is slightly refined to emphasize the protection of payments made under protest.

REQUIREMENT

The purpose statement was modified to explicitly state that the Act adds procedural safeguards for payments made to the State under protest.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated to include 'SD1' to indicate it is a Senate Draft.

The bill sponsor was changed from Paul Kanoho to Blake Anderson.

The bill metadata was updated to reflect a new revision number (00008) and a different template type (SD Template).

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 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2466) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 10, 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 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-10-26 9:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to JDC, WAM.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors