Sen. Lorraine Inouye

Maddy summarySB 20 provides state funding to continue the Green Jobs Youth Corps program under the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The program offers training and job opportunities for young people in environmental conservation work, such as habitat restoration and park maintenance. This bill allocates specific state funds to sustain the program's operations and staffing. It directly affects youth participants in the program and the department responsible for managing it.

Beginning January 1, 2026, prohibits an insurer of property, homeowner's, or renter's insurance from increasing the premium for a policyholder's insurance policy upon renewal unless the insurer submits a report to the policyholder and Insurance Commissioner and receives approval from the Insurance Commissioner. Establishes penalties. Sunsets 1/1/2029.

Appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii for the establishment and administration of the Plant-Based Building Materials Working Group to study how best to develop the plant-based building materials industry in the State. Requires a report to the Legislature.

Establishes the Wildfire Mitigation Working Group. Requires a report to the Legislature. Requires the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to provide administrative support to the working group. Makes appropriations.

Amends the persons required to collect the Ocean Stewardship User Fee. Extends the sunset date of the Ocean Stewardship Special Fund to 1/1/2031. (CD1)

Establishes within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations' Office of Community Services the Immigration Services and Access Unit. Makes appropriations for the unit, including funding for new positions. (CD1)

Requires the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to develop multilingual accessibility standards. Appropriates funds to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) position to develop multilingual accessibility standards within the Office of Enterprise Technology Services. (CD1)

Maddy summaryThis bill allows the State of Hawaiʻi to send and receive the Plant and Animal Declaration Form electronically instead of requiring paper copies. It directly affects travelers entering the state who must declare any plants or animals they are bringing with them. By digitizing this process, the law modernizes how the state collects information to prevent the introduction of invasive species. The change simplifies the entry procedure for visitors while maintaining the same regulatory requirements for declaring biological items.

Establishes a harm to students registry, for all early learning programs or schools and K-12 educational institutions within the State, that contains information on school employees, contractors, or volunteers for whom, as result of an investigation, a final finding has been issued that the individual has inflicted harm on a student. (CD1)

Establishes a Business Revitalization Task Force within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to identify methods to improve Hawaiʻi's general economic competitiveness and business climate, including the mitigation of regulatory and tax burdens. Requires a report to the Legislature. (CD1)