Requires the Department of Education to establish a teacher loan forgiveness program to assist in the payment of loans for teachers who commit to teaching in the Hawaiʻi public school system. Appropriates funds.
Clarifies that violation of part I of chapter 200, HRS, relating to ocean recreation and coastal areas, or any rules adopted thereunder shall be subject to criminal penalties.
Clarifies the definition of "burial site".
Beginning with the - school year, requires public elementary, middle, and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Requires the Department of Education to adjust state-provided bus and school meal schedules accordingly.
Establishes a continuous Legislature. Requires the Legislature to convene at least once a month. Removes language regarding special sessions, adjournment, and recesses. Creates a two-year deadline for a bill to be submitted for gubernatorial consideration. Standardizes the number of days that the Governor must approve or veto a bill submitted for consideration. Requires the passage of the legislative budget within 45 days before the end of each fiscal year. Makes members of the Legislature subject to the sunshine law. Prohibits members of the Legislature from having employment other than their work as members of the Legislature.
Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish and operate conservation mitigation banks to restore, create, enhance, or preserve conservation habitats or resources as compensatory mitigation. Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources to contract a third-party administrator for the operation of the mitigation banks. Clarifies the sale of credits involved in conservation mitigation banking. Defines "conservation mitigation bank".
Increases the penalty for the desecration of Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian burial sites from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Appropriates funds for prefabricated, modular, or kauhale-type housing for individuals impacted by the Lahaina wildfire.
Establishes a substance abuse treatment special fund. Increases liquor tax rates to unspecified amounts. Allocates increased liquor tax revenues to the substance abuse treatment special fund.
Establishes the Hawaiʻi Cannabis Authority and Cannabis Control Board within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to regulate all aspects of the cannabis plant. Beginning January 1, 2026, legalizes the personal adult use of cannabis. Establishes taxes for adult-use cannabis sales. Transfers the personnel and assets of the Department of Health and assets Department of Agriculture to the Hawaiʻi Cannabis Authority. Appropriates funds.
