Committees advance and amend several bills; some measures deferred
March 19, 2026 | Senate, Legislative , Hawaii
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The Senate Government Operations and Public Safety committees met March 19, 2026, and disposed of several measures heard earlier. Chair McKelvey opened the decision-making session and moved several bills to their next procedural steps.
HB812, relating to agriculture, was redrafted into a Senate Draft 1 and sent to conference with amendments. Chair McKelvey described it as “a good bill,” and members adopted the measure with the chair noting Department of Education support for the flexibility in the proposal.
House Bill 2388, a proposal allowing government agencies to satisfy public-notice obligations by posting notices on official state or county websites, was returned to the Senate position (reflecting SB2929, Senate Draft 1) with an effective date the committee recorded as 2525 and passed with amendments. The chair and members voiced particular concern about the measure’s statewide application after the loss of a daily newspaper on Maui.
The committee deferred House Bill 1414 (procurement) to a time certain — March 24 at 3:00 PM in Room 225 — to allow amendments addressing concerns with the bill’s draft language. House Bill 32 (voter registration) was deferred indefinitely so the Senate vehicle can continue work, and House Bill 2469 (regular session review working group) was set for further work and return to March 24.
The committee recorded roll-call acknowledgements during votes and then transitioned to the day’s public hearings on HB1577 and HB1870.
HB812, relating to agriculture, was redrafted into a Senate Draft 1 and sent to conference with amendments. Chair McKelvey described it as “a good bill,” and members adopted the measure with the chair noting Department of Education support for the flexibility in the proposal.
House Bill 2388, a proposal allowing government agencies to satisfy public-notice obligations by posting notices on official state or county websites, was returned to the Senate position (reflecting SB2929, Senate Draft 1) with an effective date the committee recorded as 2525 and passed with amendments. The chair and members voiced particular concern about the measure’s statewide application after the loss of a daily newspaper on Maui.
The committee deferred House Bill 1414 (procurement) to a time certain — March 24 at 3:00 PM in Room 225 — to allow amendments addressing concerns with the bill’s draft language. House Bill 32 (voter registration) was deferred indefinitely so the Senate vehicle can continue work, and House Bill 2469 (regular session review working group) was set for further work and return to March 24.
The committee recorded roll-call acknowledgements during votes and then transitioned to the day’s public hearings on HB1577 and HB1870.
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