HB 1959 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

Summary

Extends for five years certain provisions from Act 19, SLH 2020, and Act 238, SLH 2021, relating to abuse of family or household members, including establishing a petty misdemeanor offense of abuse of family or household members, clarifying penalties for violations, and allowing a deferred acceptance of guilty plea for misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor abuse of family or household members offenses. Requires the Judiciary to submit reports to the Legislature. Effective 6/29/2026. (CD1)

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Signed Jul 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1959_HD2 → HB1959_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated from a House Draft version to a Senate Draft version, primarily changing administrative metadata like author names and revision numbers. The core policy text regarding the extension of deferred plea provisions for family abuse cases and the requirement for future reporting remains substantively unchanged, though section numbering was adjusted to reflect the Senate's formatting.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's policy content remains the same; only the administrative metadata and section numbering were modified to align with Senate drafting standards.

TECHNICAL

Updated author names from Michael Hamasaki to Fredrick Akau and Ainoa Naniole, and changed the bill version identifier from HD2 to SD1.

Adjusted section numbering sequence (e.g., renumbering the reporting requirement from Section 5 to Section 4) to match Senate formatting conventions.

Changed the effective date in the summary description from July 1, 3000 to January 1, 2050, while the actual statutory text remains unchanged.

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

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

lower

May 6, 2026

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 29, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 60-26).

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 60-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

Apr 28, 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) San Buenaventura, Rhoads, McKelvey; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 28, 2026

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, Alcos; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Apr 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Tuesday, 04-28-26 2:30PM in conference room 329.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 644) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Apr 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa.

upper

Apr 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Reported from HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3171) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Mar 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, McKelvey, Kanuha, Keohokalole, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-18-26 1:00PM; CR 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to HHS, JDC.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 325).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 378-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

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, Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi, Alcos; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to HSH, JHA, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

31 primary · 0 co-sponsors