RELATING TO STATE HOLIDAYS.
HB 554 designates the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice each year as the state holiday "Lunar New Year." This bill would add Lunar New Year to the state's official holiday calendar, affecting state government operations and potentially public school schedules. The bill specifies an effective date of July 1, 3000, meaning it would not impact current or near-future holiday observances. The measure is currently pending committee approval with a recommendation to pass.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 17, 2025
Last action Feb 11, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
HB554
→
HB554_HD1
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was significantly altered from its original version. The original bill sought to establish the Lunar New Year as a state holiday in Hawaii, but the revised version removes this provision entirely. Instead, the new version only defines the Lunar New Year as the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice without granting it any holiday status. The effective date was also changed from immediate approval to July 1, 3000, which means the bill will never take effect.
Scope change
The bill's scope was substantially reduced from establishing a new state holiday to merely defining a date without any legal effect.
REQUIREMENT
Removed the provision establishing the Lunar New Year as a state holiday
TIMELINE
Changed effective date from 'upon approval' to 'July 1, 3000'
DEFINITION
Modified Section 2 to define Lunar New Year without granting it holiday status
SCOPE
Removed the finding about Asian immigrant contributions and the purpose statement regarding honoring cultural diversity
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
7
Key actions
1
Committee
3
Feb 11, 2025
Committee
Reported from CAA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 364) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
The committee on CAA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Kapela, Kong, Garrett, Lee, M., Sayama; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Reyes Oda.
lower
Jan 21, 2025
Committee
Referred to CAA, FIN, referral sheet 2
lower
Jan 21, 2025
Introduced
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Introduced
Pending introduction.
lower
11 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Amy Perruso
DDemocratic
P
Andrew Garrett
DDemocratic
P
Chris Todd
DDemocratic
P
Cory Chun
DDemocratic
P
Jenna Takenouchi
DDemocratic
P
Kirstin Kahaloa
DDemocratic
P
Mahina Poepoe
DDemocratic
P
Rachele Lamosao
DDemocratic
P
Terez Amato
DDemocratic
P
Tina Grandinetti
DDemocratic
P
Tyson Miyake
DDemocratic
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