Rep. Sue Lee Loy

Establishes an independent Office of the Child Advocate within the Department of the Attorney General to oversee and evaluate the delivery of services to children and their families by various state agencies and entities, receive and investigate complaints, and make recommendations for improvement. Requires annual reports to the Governor, Legislature, and public. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Expands free school meal coverage, beginning with the 2029-2030 school year, to all public school students, including public charter school students, regardless of whether the student participates in a federal school meals program. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Requires the Department of Education to establish a Numeracy Coaching Program to provide numeracy coaches in certain Department of Education elementary schools, middle schools, and intermediate schools to support teachers, improve instruction, and ensure that students develop a strong foundation in mathematics. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Appropriates funds to the Department of Health to contract with community-based organizations to provide preventive and early intervention mental health services to adolescents within the community. Requires a report to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Proposes constitutional amendments to expressly provide that the Legislature may authorize political subdivisions, such as the counties, to issue housing infrastructure growth bonds for specified public works, public improvements, or other actions necessary for housing and community development, and exclude these bonds from determinations of the funded debt of the political subdivisions. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Affirms student-athletes' rights to engage in name, image, and likeness activities for compensation. Requires the University of Hawaii to adopt policies governing institutional name, image, and likeness agreements and other aspects of name, image, and likeness activity consistent with federal law, rules by an intercollegiate athletics governing body such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and Title IX. Establishes certain transparency and accountability requirements in the administration of institutional name, image, and likeness activities. Provides protections and educational support for student-athletes who enter into name, image, and likeness agreements. Appropriates funds. Sunsets 6/30/2030. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Requires the Food and Product Innovation Network to integrate a coordinated food safety and regulatory framework. Requires the Agribusiness Development Corporation to establish performance indicators for the Food and Product Innovation Network, develop a market access strategy, align and harmonize state branding initiatives, and report certain data to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Maddy summaryHB 2399 appropriates state funds to the State Public Charter School Commission specifically for prekindergarten-only public charter schools. This bill directly affects prekindergarten-only public charter schools by providing them with dedicated state funding through the Commission. The key mechanism is a budget allocation for operational support, without changing eligibility rules or student enrollment requirements. The bill is currently in early stages, having been introduced on January 27, 2026.

Requires hospitals and hospital systems to submit annual certified reports regarding costs associated with Medicare and uninsured patients to the Department of Health, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and State Health Planning and Development Agency. Requires the Department of Health, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and State Health Planning and Development Agency to review the reports, establish standards and procedures, and adopt rules. Requires the Department of Health to consider the reports when determining the department's budget request and designate financial assistance requests in an equitable way. Requires the Office of the Auditor to conduct periodic audits of the financial assistance distributed to hospitals and hospital systems. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Authorizes the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority to extend existing leases and subleases for up to an additional ten-year term. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)