HB 1516 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO PRETRIAL RELEASE.

HB 1516 requires courts to consider a defendant's actual financial ability to pay bail when determining pretrial release conditions. This bill directly affects individuals facing pretrial detention decisions, particularly those with limited financial resources. The key provision mandates that judges evaluate specific factors related to a defendant's financial situation before setting bail amounts. The bill is currently in its early stages, having been introduced and passed first reading on January 21, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed Mar 4, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1516_HD1 → HB1516_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated from the House version to the Senate version, changing the sponsor and updating internal metadata. The most significant policy change involves the bail reform section, which now requires courts to use the most recently published annual federal poverty guidelines instead of a fixed percentage. Additionally, the effective date of the law was moved from July 1, 3000, to March 22, 2075.

Scope change

The scope of the bail determination process was refined to rely on dynamic federal poverty guidelines rather than a static calculation, and the law's implementation timeline was adjusted to a specific future date.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the method for calculating bail affordability from a fixed percentage of poverty to using the most recently published annual federal poverty guidelines.

TIMELINE

Updated the effective date of the act from July 1, 3000, to March 22, 2075.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata including the sponsor name, revision numbers, and internal tracking codes.

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

May 6, 2026

Committee

Recommitted to Conference committee as amended in CD 1 with none voting no and Representative(s) La Chica excused.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-01-26

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 20-26).

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 20-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

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, San Buenaventura, Chang; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 578) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Apr 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 17, 2026

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

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 9:55AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to JDC.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 236).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Kila, Matsumoto, Olds, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (8) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Cochran.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Cochran, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: none; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to JHA, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

14 primary · 0 co-sponsors