SR 189 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO REISSUE REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE JOB ORDER CONTRACTING PROGRAM CONTRACTORS AND PREQUALIFIED SMALL CONTRACTORS TO ENSURE THE CONTINUITY OF THE FUTURE SCHOOLS NOW PROGRAM.

This Senate Resolution requests the Hawaii Department of Education to reissue Requests for Proposals for contractors under the Future Schools Now program, which uses job order contracting to quickly repair school facilities. The bill directly affects the state education agency and construction firms, asking them to restart the bidding process for both general contractors and prequalified small businesses before current contracts expire. By reissuing these proposals in 2026, the resolution aims to ensure continuous funding and services for school repairs without interruption, maintaining the program's ability to address the state's backlog of facility maintenance. The Department of Education is also asked to submit a report to the Legislature by early 2027 detailing the program's progress, including the number of projects completed and total spending.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 16, 2026 Last action May 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SR189 → SR189_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect its status as a Senate Draft 1 (SD1) version, changing the sponsor from SCR to SMA. Substantively, the resolution added new requirements for the Department of Education to streamline facility repair systems, provide principals with direct access to the Job Order Contracting program, and conduct outreach to educate them on these options. Additionally, the report required from the Department now includes specific metrics on training activities and an assessment of using lump sum funds to empower principals for small repairs.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include specific mandates for the Department of Education regarding internal process improvements and principal education, moving beyond a simple request to reissue Requests for Proposals.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for the Department of Education to streamline its school-initiated facility repair system by granting principals direct access to the Job Order Contracting program.

Added a requirement for the Department to conduct outreach and issue guidance to educate principals on the Job Order Contracting program and available repair options.

Expanded the required legislative report to include data on training activities conducted for principals and an assessment of establishing lump sum funds for school-level repairs.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata to reflect the transition from the original version to the Senate Draft 1 (SD1) version, including changes to sponsor designation and revision numbers.

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

Apr 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report and Resolution Adopted, as amended (SD 1).

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from EDU/GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3605) with recommendation of adoption, as amended (SD 1).

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, Fukunaga, Hashimoto; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) DeCorte.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in GVO were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) McKelvey, Hashimoto, Moriwaki; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard, Awa.

upper

Apr 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU/GVO has scheduled a public hearing on 04-08-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 19, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDU/GVO.

upper

Mar 16, 2026

Introduced

Offered.