RELATING TO TORTURE.
SB 281 defines torture as a criminal act and classifies it as a class A felony - the most serious criminal charge - making it illegal for government officials to inflict severe physical or mental suffering. The bill directly affects law enforcement and other public officials who might commit such acts, establishing clear legal consequences. Its key provision creates a specific criminal offense with enhanced penalties, replacing vague standards with a defined legal framework. The bill is currently under committee review and has not yet been enacted into law.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Jan 14, 2025
Signed May 30, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
SB281_HD2
→
SB281_SD1
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill text was reformatted from a House Draft version (HD2) to a Senate Draft version (SD1), with no substantive policy changes to the torture statute itself. The core provisions defining the offense, penalties, and definitions remain identical. Minor formatting differences include spacing, line breaks, and metadata fields that were added or removed during the legislative drafting process.
TECHNICAL
Line breaks, spacing, and paragraph formatting were adjusted to match Senate drafting standards.
Metadata fields such as timestamps, revision numbers, and template identifiers were added or removed.
Page headers and footers from the House version were removed in the Senate version.
New metadata lines including bill number, legislative session, and state information were added.
Floor votes
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
43
Key actions
13
Committee
13
Amendments
2
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1).
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.
upper
Apr 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 27) as amended in (CD 1).
lower
Apr 24, 2025
Introduced
48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25.
upper
Apr 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 27).
upper
Apr 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Tarnas, Olds, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
lower
Apr 23, 2025
Upper · Passed
The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa.
upper
Apr 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-23-25 4:00PM; Conference Room 325.
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Amended
Senate disagrees with House amendments.
upper
Apr 10, 2025
Introduced
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 635).
upper
Apr 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.
lower
Apr 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Perruso, Takayama, Todd, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran.
lower
Mar 13, 2025
Committee
Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1208) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
lower
Mar 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
The committee on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Olds, Amato, Chun, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
lower
Mar 6, 2025
Committee
Referred to HSH, JHA, referral sheet 19
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Introduced
Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 120) in amended form (SD 1).
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
upper
Feb 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
upper
Jan 29, 2025
Upper · Passed
The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 02-05-25 9:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.
upper
Jan 27, 2025
Committee
Re-Referred to JDC.
upper
Jan 21, 2025
Committee
Referred to HHS, JDC.
upper
Jan 15, 2025
Introduced
Introduced and passed First Reading.
upper
Jan 14, 2025
Introduced
Pending Introduction.
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Ron Kouchi
DDemocratic
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