HB 1510 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES.

Summary

Conditions the issuance of a certificate of inspection upon a vehicle not being equipped with any cover or shield installed over the license plate. Amends the penalty for obstruction of a license plate. Allows state or county parking enforcement officers and persons authorized by a state or county law enforcement agency to issue citations for vehicles with a cover or shield obstructing the license plate. Repeals the requirement that a cover or shield be intended to alter or interfere with the visibility, legibility, or identification of a license plate by law enforcement or traffic enforcement systems. Effective 1/1/2027. (SD1)

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed May 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1510_HD2 → HB1510_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised from a House Draft (HD2) to a Senate Draft (SD1), updating the authorship and version numbers. The most significant substantive change is the amendment of the effective date for the legislation, moving it from July 1, 3000, to January 1, 2027.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on license plate regulations, but the timeline for when these rules become active has been adjusted to a realistic future date.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 3000, to January 1, 2027.

TECHNICAL

Authorship details were updated to reflect the new Senate draft, changing the author from Michael Ganoot to Noah Holck and Ainoa Naniole.

Internal bill metadata, including revision numbers and template identifiers, were updated to reflect the Senate version.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in SD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia voting no (2) and Representative(s) Evslin excused (1).

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Introduced

House agrees to Senate amendment(s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 10, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 520) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Awa). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Mar 31, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. 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

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 03-31-26 10:30AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3111) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TRS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Elefante, Kanuha, Lee, C., DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS has rescheduled its public hearing to 03-17-26 3:00PM; CR 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 3:05PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRS, JDC.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 232).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Kahaloa, Takayama, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Hashem, Sayama.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 438-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Miyake, Cochran, Evslin, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Grandinetti.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRN, JHA, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors