SB 175 Hawaii Senate · 2025 Regular Session

PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE VI, SECTION 3, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO INCREASE THE MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGE FOR STATE JUSTICES AND JUDGES.

SB 175 proposes a constitutional amendment to raise Hawaii's mandatory retirement age for state justices and judges from 70 to 75 years. If approved, this change would directly affect current and future state court judges by allowing them to serve longer in their roles. The bill is currently pending in the Judiciary Committee after passing a committee vote with amendments, but it has not yet become law. This amendment would require a constitutional change, meaning it would need voter approval to take effect. The proposal focuses solely on altering the retirement age requirement within Hawaii's state constitution.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2025 Last action Feb 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB175 → SB175_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill amends the Hawaii State Constitution to increase the mandatory retirement age for state justices and judges from 70 to 75 years. The change applies to all state court judges, including supreme court, intermediate appellate, circuit, and district court judges. This modification extends the term of service for judicial officers by five years, potentially affecting judicial continuity and succession planning.

Scope change

The scope of the amendment applies to all state court judges and justices, expanding the age limit uniformly across all court levels.

REQUIREMENT

The mandatory retirement age for all state justices and judges was increased from 70 years to 75 years.

TIMELINE

The amendment specifies that the change takes effect upon compliance with Article XVII, Section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution, which governs constitutional amendment procedures.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a traditional legislative bill format to a structured amendment template with metadata fields, though the substantive content remains consistent.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 6, 2025

Committee

Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 64) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Jan 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Jan 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 01-28-25 9:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Committee

Referred to JDC, WAM.

upper

Jan 15, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 13, 2025

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors