Bill Commons

HI SB 51

died on adjournment

RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCING FOR CANDIDATES TO ELECTED OFFICE.

Hawaii · 2026 Regular Session · upper

Quick answers

Did HI SB 51 pass?

No. HI SB 51 died when the 2026 Regular Session adjourned without final action on it. Bills that die this way are sometimes reintroduced in a later session. Latest recorded action (2025-12-08): Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

What is HI SB 51 about?

Establishes a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices in the State of Hawaii, to begin with the 2028 general election year. Requires the Campaign Spending Commission to submit reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 4/23/2057. (SD1)

Who sponsors HI SB 51?

RHOADS, CHANG, FUKUNAGA and 2 others are the primary sponsors of HI SB 51, joined by 3 cosponsors.

Description

Establishes a comprehensive system of public financing for all candidates seeking election to state and county public offices in the State of Hawaii, to begin with the 2028 general election year. Requires the Campaign Spending Commission to submit reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 4/23/2057. (SD1)

Introduced
2025-01-15
Latest action
2025-12-08 — Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Bill type
bill
Last updated

Subjects

Sponsors

  • RHOADSprimary
  • CHANGprimary
  • FUKUNAGAprimary
  • MCKELVEYprimary
  • SAN BUENAVENTURAprimary
  • Fevellacosponsor
  • Iharacosponsor
  • Moriwakicosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

  1. 2025-12-08

    Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

    carried-over

  2. 2025-03-12

    The committee(s) on JHA recommend(s) that the measure be deferred.

    deferral

  3. 2025-03-10

    Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 03-12-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  4. 2025-03-06

    Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 19

    referral-committee

  5. 2025-03-06

    Pass First Reading

    reading-1

  6. 2025-03-04

    Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 72) in amended form (SD 1).

    introduction,receipt

  7. 2025-03-04

    Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 23; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) DeCoite, Fevella, Inouye, Kim, Moriwaki, Richards. Noes, 2 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

    passage

  8. 2025-02-28

    One Day Notice 03-04-25.

  9. 2025-02-28

    Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 850) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.

  10. 2025-02-26

    The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, Aquino, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Lee, C., Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) DeCoite, Kim, Fevella ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

    committee-passage-favorable

  11. 2025-02-24

    The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-26-25 10:04AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

  12. 2025-02-12

    Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

    passage,reading-2,referral-committee

  13. 2025-02-12

    Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 306) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

  14. 2025-02-05

    The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Chang.

    committee-passage-favorable

  15. 2025-01-29

    The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-05-25 9:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

  16. 2025-01-16

    Referred to JDC, WAM.

    referral-committee

  17. 2025-01-15

    Introduced and passed First Reading.

    introduction,reading-1

  18. 2025-01-08

    Pending Introduction.

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.

    2025-02-05 · pass · 3-1

    Member-level votes (5)
    • Rhoads: yes
    • Gabbard: yes
    • San Buenaventura: yes
    • Awa: no
    • Chang: not voting
  • The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED.

    2025-02-26 · pass · 13-0

    Member-level votes (14)
    • Dela Cruz: yes
    • Moriwaki: yes
    • Aquino: yes
    • Elefante: yes
    • Hashimoto: yes
    • Inouye: yes
    • Kanuha: yes
    • Kidani: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • C: yes
    • Wakai: yes
    • DeCoite: yes
    • Kim: yes
    • Fevella: yes
  • Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading.

    2025-03-04 · pass · 23-2

    Member-level votes (6)
    • DeCoite: yes
    • Fevella: yes
    • Inouye: yes
    • Kim: yes
    • Moriwaki: yes
    • Richards: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:20:09.051962Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

Use this data

Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=HI&identifier=SB 51. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.

Known limitations

  • Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
  • Committee referrals are not yet captured.

See the methodology page for data sources and limitations.