Rep. Kanani Souza

Requires an automated vehicle used by a motor carrier to transport passengers commercially to have a human supervisor present in the vehicle. Establishes an income tax credit to incentivize the training of supervisors for autonomous vehicles. Sunsets 12/31/2036. Applies to taxable years beginning after 12/31/2026. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Prohibits the counties from imposing certain lot requirements and dwelling specifications for parcels of land zoned for residential uses located within the urban district for purposes of subdivision, development, or the issuance of a building permit, with certain exemptions. Allows the counties to establish a petition process for neighborhoods, subdivisions, or other geographically contiguous areas to establish or retain certain requirements or specifications. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Requires students of the University of Hawaii, including transfer students, to complete training on federal laws and University policies regarding sexual misconduct prior to the completion of initial registration into the university of Hawaii system. Amends the frequency that training and programming regarding sexual misconduct is provided to university of Hawaii students and employees.

Establishes the Office of the State Search and Rescue Coordinator within the Office of the Governor. Provides for the authority and duties of the State Search and Rescue Coordinator. Designates participating agencies and their duties with regard to state search and rescue operations and training. Establishes the Search and Rescue Special Fund. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.

Maddy summaryHB 2607 protects individuals' right to publicity by prohibiting the unauthorized use of a person's likeness or voice in AI-generated deepfakes. The bill directly affects people whose image, voice, or persona could be replicated without consent through artificial intelligence. Its key provision bans creating or distributing AI-generated content that mimics a person's identity for commercial or public purposes without permission. This creates a clear legal barrier against non-consensual deepfake exploitation, focusing on preventing harm rather than regulating AI technology broadly.

Establishes a five-year agriculture and biosecurity workforce development pilot program within the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii's Leeward Community College, Department of Human Resources Development, and Department of Law Enforcement. Requires a report to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Establishes statewide health care worker safety and workplace violence prevention requirements for health care facilities. Requires enforcement by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations in coordination with the Department of Health.

Beginning 1/1/2027, requires a developer of an algorithmic decision system to provide certain disclosures to a deployer and an individual who is or will be affected by a decision made, informed, or influenced by the algorithmic decision system. Provides certain rights and procedures for individuals to access and correct data used by an algorithmic decision system. Requires disclosure requirements for generative artificial intelligence systems. Provides that a developer and deployer of an algorithmic decision system are jointly and severally liable for a violation of any law that results from the deployer's use of the developer's system, under certain conditions. Assigns enforcement responsibilities to the attorney general, including establishing rules.

Requires the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to coordinate the development and maintenance of statewide standards for the collection, management, and reporting of race and ethnicity demographic data by any state or county department, agency, board, or commission. Focuses the use of collected demographic data on areas of public interest and establishes transparency and accountability requirements regarding artificial intelligence systems associated with the collected data. Requires state and county departments, agencies, boards, and commissions that collect race and ethnicity data to report to the Office of Enterprise Technology Services on meeting federal data collection requirements. Appropriates funds.

Establishes limits on transactions through digital financial asset transaction kiosks. Requires operators of digital financial asset transaction kiosks to use blockchain analytics and tracing software to prevent fraud; make certain disclosures; provide receipts to customers; provide full refunds under certain circumstances; and provide live customer service and a dedicated communications line for the Attorney General, Office of Consumer Protection, Department of Law Enforcement, and county police departments.