HB 1656 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO INDEBTEDNESS TO THE STATE.

HB 1656 changes how much a state employee's salary or wages can be withheld to repay debts owed to the state. It amends the maximum deduction amount that a disbursing officer (the person handling payroll) can take from an employee's gross income. The bill adjusts this deduction limit based on the employee's total earnings before taxes. This directly affects state employees who have outstanding debts to the state, such as for overpayments or loans. The change aims to set clearer, income-based limits on these deductions.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action May 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1656_HD1 → HB1656_SD1 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated from House Draft 1 to Senate Draft 1, reflecting revisions made during the legislative process. The most significant substantive change is the effective date of the new salary deduction rules, which was moved from the distant future of July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2050. Minor technical adjustments include updating the bill author's name and changing the document template revision numbers.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on limiting how much a disbursing officer can deduct from an employee's pay for debt recovery, with no changes to the underlying eligibility or deduction limits.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the new debt recovery deduction rules was changed from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2050, bringing the law into a more realistic timeframe.

TECHNICAL

The bill author's name was updated from Michael Ganoot to Lance Ching, and the document template revision number was updated from 00004 to 00008 to reflect the Senate draft status.

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 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 3:45PM in Conference Room 411.

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 12:00PM in Conference Room 016.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 05-01-26 8:45AM in conference room 016.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 596) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..

upper

Apr 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-06-26 10:32AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Reported from LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3119) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in LBT were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Lamosao, Ihara, Moriwaki; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 03-16-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to LBT, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 32).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 282-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

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, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

8 primary · 0 co-sponsors