HB 1654 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES.

Summary

Requires the Attorney General to establish a confidential process for persons to anonymously file complaints against public employees. Requires the Attorney General to review and forward the complaints to the department, board, commission, or agency deemed appropriate by the Attorney General. Requires the departments, boards, commissions, and agencies to process the complaint pursuant to their standard complaint‑processing procedures and report the disposition to the Attorney General. Requires reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 3, 2026

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What changed between versions

HB1654 → HB1654_HD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect House District 1 amendments, changing the effective date from immediate approval to July 1, 3000, and modifying the complaint process to require complainants to notify law enforcement for imminent dangers. The Attorney General's role was adjusted to allow rule adoption rather than mandate it, and the annual report requirement was simplified to focus on departmental dispositions.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on confidential complaints against public employees, but the enforcement mechanism for imminent threats was altered to shift responsibility to the complainant for notifying law enforcement.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from immediate approval to July 1, 3000.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for the Attorney General to notify agencies of imminent dangers was removed and replaced with a directive for complainants to immediately notify law enforcement in such situations.

The Attorney General's obligation to adopt rules was changed from mandatory ('shall') to permissive ('may').

The annual report requirement was simplified to focus on the departments' disposition of complaints rather than the full process details.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 283-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Kong, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to LAB, JHA, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

9 primary · 0 co-sponsors