The People's Ledger
← All Hawaii bills

SB2721Introduced in the Senate

Relating To The Administration Of Justice.

Passed

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

Implements recommendations from the 2025 Advisory Committee on Penal Code Review, established pursuant to Act 245, SLH 2024, to amend the Hawaii Penal Code. Effective 9/1/2026. (CD1)

Where it stands

Act 151, on 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1252).

June 26, 2026

How did lawmakers vote?

House votes

1 recorded vote · each counted separately

Senate votes

2 recorded votes · each counted separately

HouseStage: House Conference: Passed, With Amendments · April 28, 2026

3

Yes

1

No

0

Absent or Not Voting

4 representatives recorded in this House vote. Colors show vote categories only, not whether a vote was good or bad.

See how each representative voted

RepresentativeDistrictVote
Matthias Kusch1Yes
David Tarnas8Yes
Mahina Poepoe13Yes
Diamond Garcia42No

Bill history

  1. Introduced.

  2. Passed First Reading.

  3. Referred to PSM, JDC/WAM.

  4. The committee(s) on PSM has scheduled a public hearing on 02-02-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

  5. The committee on PSM deferred the measure.

  6. Re-Referred to JDC.

  7. The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-18-26 9:05AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

  8. 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 ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) San Buenaventura.

  9. Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2812) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and placement on the calendar for Third Reading.

  10. Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1).

  11. 48 Hrs. Notice 3/10/2026.

  12. Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

  13. Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 287) in amended form (SD 1).

  14. Pass First Reading

  15. Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 17

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

  17. The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Cochran, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Shimizu; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and Excused: none.

  18. Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1409-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

  19. Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Cochran, Garcia, Pierick voting no (3) and Representative(s) Matsumoto, Perruso excused (2).

  20. Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 04-02-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  21. The committee(s) on FIN recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 04-07-26.

  22. Bill scheduled for decision making on Tuesday, 04-07-26 10:10AM in conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  23. The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos, Gedeon; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa.

  24. Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2076-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.

  25. Deferred one day 04-14-26.

  26. Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Kila, Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Matayoshi, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (9) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

  27. Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 694).

  28. Senate disagrees with House amendments.

  29. Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 710).

  30. House Conferees Appointed: Tarnas, Kusch Co-Chairs; Poepoe, Garcia.

  31. Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 787).

  32. Senate Conferees Appointed: Rhoads Chair; Chang, Gabbard.

  33. Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 718).

  34. Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-23-26 2:35PM; Conference Room 325.

  35. Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-26 3:10PM; Conference Room 325.

  36. Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Monday 04-27-26 2:00PM in conference room 325.

  37. Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 2:00PM in conference room 325.

  38. The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Kusch, Poepoe; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and 0 Excused: none.

  39. The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Chang, Gabbard; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

  40. Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 48-26).

  41. 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26.

  42. Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 48-26) as amended in (CD 1).

  43. Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26.

  44. Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Lamosao. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none).

  45. Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Kila, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick voting no (8) and none excused (0).

  46. Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816).

  47. Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888).

  48. Enrolled to Governor.

  49. Act 151, 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1252).

  50. Act 151, on 06/25/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1252).

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.