SB 781 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY'S ‘OLELO HAWAI‘I INITIATIVES.

SB 781 appropriates funds to support the Judiciary's Olelo Hawaii Initiatives, which promote Hawaiian language programs within the court system. The bill directly affects the Hawaii Judiciary by providing dedicated funding for these language initiatives. Key provisions include allocating specific financial resources to sustain and expand Hawaiian language services in judicial proceedings. The measure becomes effective on April 23, 2057, as stated in the bill's abstract.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB781 → SB781_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated from an original version (SB781) to a Senate Draft 1 version (SB781_SD1), which includes significant changes to metadata, formatting, and specific text. Most notably, the effective date of the law was altered from July 1, 2025, to April 23, 2057, and the appropriated funding amount was removed, leaving it blank for future determination.

Scope change

The scope of applicability remains focused on the Judiciary's Hawaiian language initiatives, but the timeline for implementation has been drastically extended by over 30 years.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 2025, to April 23, 2057.

FISCAL

The specific dollar amount appropriated for the initiatives was removed, leaving a blank space in the text.

TECHNICAL

Metadata fields such as bill type, revision numbers, and tracking IDs were updated to reflect the new draft status.

Minor text capitalization changes were made, such as changing 'native' to 'Native' and 'U.S.' to 'United States'.

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

Feb 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Committee

Reported from JDC/HWN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 435) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HWN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HWN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Richards, San Buenaventura, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara, Keohokalole.

upper

Feb 7, 2025

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

Jan 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC/HWN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-07-25 9:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 23, 2025

Committee

Referred to JDC/HWN, WAM.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor