The People's Ledger
← All Hawaii bills

SB2315Introduced in the Senate

Proposing An Amendment To Article Xvii, Section 3 Of The Hawaii State Constitution To Specify That The Standard For Voter Approval Of A Constitutional Amendment Proposed By The Legislature Is A Majority Of All The Votes Tallied Upon The Question.

EnrolledHouse Finance

Introduced by Karl Rhoads, District 13

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

Proposes to amend article XVII, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution regarding the standard for ratification of a constitutional amendment proposed by the Legislature, to provide that proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

Where it stands

Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Muraoka, Reyes Oda, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (5) and Representative(s) Matsumoto, Perruso excused (2).

March 25, 2026

How did lawmakers vote?

SenateStage: Senate Ways and Means: Passed, With Amendments · February 19, 2026

11

Yes

0

No

2

Absent or Not Voting

13 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
Dru Kanuha3Yes
Tim Richards4Absent
Troy Hashimoto5Yes
Lynn Decoite7Yes
Sharon Moriwaki12Yes
Donna Kim14Yes
Glenn Wakai15Yes
Brandon Elefante16Yes
Donovan Cruz17Yes

Bill history

  1. Pending Introduction.

  2. Introduced and passed First Reading.

  3. Referred to JDC, WAM.

  4. The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-03-26 9:00AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

  5. 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, Chang; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 2 No(es): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Awa; and 0 Excused: none.

  6. Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2152) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

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

  8. The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-19-26 10:30AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

  9. The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 11 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Richards.

  10. Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2711) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2).

  11. 48 Hrs. Notice 03-05-26.

  12. Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 21; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Richards, San Buenaventura. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, McKelvey). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Ihara). Transmitted to House.

  13. Notice of bill proposing constitutional amendment transmitted to Governor pursuant to Article XVII, Section 3 (Sen. Com. No. 1).

  14. Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 23) in amended form (SD 2).

  15. Pass First Reading

  16. Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 15

  17. Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 03-19-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  18. The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Hashem, Kahaloa, Takayama, Cochran; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Sayama.

  19. Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1418-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

  20. Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Muraoka, Reyes Oda, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (5) and Representative(s) Matsumoto, Perruso excused (2).

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.