The People's Ledger
← All Hawaii bills

HB2438Introduced in the House

Relating To The Hawaii Cultural Trust.

EngrossedSenate Ways and Means

Introduced by Jeanne Kapela, District 5

What does this bill do?

Plain-English breakdown

Writing a plain-English summary of this bill… this can take a few seconds the first time.

Official description

Establishes the Hawaii Cultural Trust within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Establishes an income tax credit for contributions made to both the Hawaii Cultural Trust and at least one qualified Hawaii cultural organization, under certain conditions. Establishes a special number plate for motor vehicles to support the Hawaii Cultural Trust. Applies the income tax credit to taxable years beginning after 12/31/2026. Effective 7/1/3050. (SD1)

Where it stands

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

March 30, 2026

How did lawmakers vote?

SenateStage: Senate Water, Land, and Agriculture: Passed, With Amendments · March 25, 2026

5

Yes

0

No

0

Absent or Not Voting

5 senators recorded in this Senate vote. Colors show vote categories only, not whether a vote was good or bad.

What do people think?

Citizen Voice

How would you vote on this bill?

An unofficial public opinion poll. It does not affect the bill or the official vote.

One response per device. Location is self-reported and not verified. Results are informal and not a scientific survey.

See how each senator voted

SenatorDistrictVote
Lorraine Inouye1Yes
Stanley Chang9Yes
Rachele Fernandez Lamosao19Yes
Samantha DeCorte22Yes
Chris Lee25Yes

Bill history

  1. Pending introduction.

  2. Introduced and Pass First Reading.

  3. Referred to CAA, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 6

  4. Bill scheduled to be heard by CAA on Wednesday, 02-04-26 9:45AM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  5. The committee on CAA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Kapela, Kong, Garrett, Lee, M., Sayama, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

  6. Reported from CAA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 37-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

  7. Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

  8. Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 02-12-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  9. The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Hashem, Sayama, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Kahaloa.

  10. Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 468-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

  11. Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

  12. Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 02-26-26 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  13. The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

  14. Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1021-26) as amended in HD 3, recommending passage on Third Reading.

  15. Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26.

  16. Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

  17. Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 419).

  18. Passed First Reading.

  19. Referred to EDT/WLA/TRS, WAM.

  20. The committee(s) on EDT/WLA/TRS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-25-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

  21. The committee(s) on TRS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TRS were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Lee, C., DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Elefante, Kanuha.

  22. The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Chang, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

  23. The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Fukunaga, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Kim.

  24. Reported from EDT/WLA/TRS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3340) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

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

Verify the information

Our commitment to neutrality

We provide factual information only. We never tell you which politicians or bills to support, and we do not rank, score, or endorse anyone.