Rep. Diamond Garcia

Authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to utilize student education partnerships to increase the amount of mental health care providers in correctional facilities across the State. Appropriates funds.

Requires the Department of Education to assign school resource officers to department public schools and charter schools. Encourages the employment of qualified retirees from the local police departments and department of law enforcement. Appropriates funds for these positions.

Establishes an exemption from applicable county permit requirements for repetitive construction projects for facilities under the control of any state department or agency, under certain conditions. Clarifies that, except for projects in special flood hazard areas, contracts for the construction, renovation, or repair of facilities under the control of the Department of Education, University of Hawaii, or School Facilities Authority shall be exempt from county permitting requirements that related off-site improvements be made by the contracting government agency as a condition to the issuance of any permit. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Authorizes the Department of Education to establish a program to award high school diplomas to persons who did not receive a diploma as a result of compulsory or voluntary induction into the armed services and persons whose high school education was interrupted due to wartime practices during World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Maddy summaryHB 627 allocates funds to the Department of Education to hire staff positions focused on implementing and maintaining school safety measures. It directly affects public schools by providing resources to enhance safety protocols through dedicated personnel. The bill’s key provision is the appropriation of funding specifically for these safety-related roles, rather than altering existing safety standards. The measure is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 3000 (note: likely a typo for 2030, per standard legislative dates).

Maddy summaryHB 290 establishes that crimes committed against individuals aged 60 or older automatically qualify as crimes against elders, creating strict liability based solely on the victim's age. This means any criminal act against someone 60+ would trigger enhanced penalties under this law, directly affecting elderly victims and potentially altering sentencing for offenders. The key provision removes the need to prove the perpetrator knew the victim's age, making the victim's age a decisive factor in classification. The bill is currently pending in the 2026 legislative session after being introduced in January 2025.

Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, requires the Department of Education to establish a cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator training program for public school students in grades six through twelve as part of existing health or physical education curriculum. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, requires the establishment of a cardiac emergency response plan in all public elementary, middle, intermediate, and high schools in the State.

Maddy summaryHB 520 would exempt tips received by employees from state income tax calculations, meaning tip income would no longer count toward an employee's taxable income. This directly affects service industry workers, such as servers and bartenders, who rely on tips as part of their earnings. The bill removes tips from gross income, adjusted gross income, and taxable income for state tax purposes. Currently pending in committee, the bill has not advanced beyond the referral stage in the 2025 session.

Requires educational institutions with elementary students to allow faculty and staff to provide time and space for students to engage in student-led group prayer or individual student prayer. Prohibits discipline or admonishment based on participation or non-participation in prayer.

Expands the existing renewable energy technologies tax credit to cover claims made after 2025 for solar energy systems integrating battery storage or existing systems that are retrofitted to include battery storage.