HB 2101 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO COMMERCIAL AQUARIUM COLLECTION.

HB 2101 prohibits the capture and sale of live aquatic animals for commercial aquarium businesses, regardless of how they are collected. This directly affects commercial aquarium suppliers and retailers who currently source wild-caught marine or freshwater species. The key provision bans all such collection and sale activities, creating a complete prohibition without exceptions for methods like nets or traps. The bill is currently in its early stages, having been introduced on January 26, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Apr 17, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2101_HD1 → HB2101_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to align with the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Holomua marine initiative, shifting the focus from an immediate ban in smaller counties to a temporary prohibition in large counties while rules are developed. The geographic scope was expanded to cover counties with populations over 500,000 instead of the previous 200,000 to 300,000 range, and the legislation now explicitly pauses the consideration of new permits for these areas until the new marine rules are finalized.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include counties with populations greater than 500,000, whereas the original version targeted counties between 200,000 and 300,000 residents.

ELIGIBILITY

The population threshold for the harvest prohibition was increased from 200,000 to 300,000 to over 500,000 residents.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements were added to pause the issuance of commercial aquarium permits in large counties until the Holomua marine initiative rulemaking is complete.

TIMELINE

The effective date and repeal conditions were updated to tie the ban's duration directly to the completion of the Holomua marine initiative rules.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and text updates were made to reference the 'Hawaii State Constitution' and adjust the bill's title and summary descriptions.

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 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 661) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 19; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) McKelvey, Richards. Noes, 6 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCoite, DeCorte, Fevella, Inouye, Moriwaki). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Apr 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in CPN were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fukunaga, Lamosao; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) McKelvey ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa.

upper

Apr 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN will reconsider its previous decision on 04-02-26 and will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 9:32AM; CR 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Apr 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) San Buenaventura.

upper

Apr 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The recommendation was not adopted.

upper

Apr 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in CPN were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fukunaga; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 2 No(es): Senator(s) McKelvey, Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lamosao.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from WLA/HWN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3365) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPN/JDC.

upper

Mar 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN/JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-02-26 9:20AM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HWN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HWN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Richards, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara, Keohokalole.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Chang, Lamosao; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) DeCorte; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA/HWN has scheduled a public hearing on 03-24-26 1:01PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to WLA/HWN, CPN/JDC.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 355).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Amato, Gedeon, Hashem, Iwamoto, Matayoshi, Morikawa, Reyes Oda, Sayama, Shimizu, Tarnas, Yamashita voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Hartsfield, Lee, M., Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Takayama voting no (8) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Hartsfield, Morikawa, Alcos; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Reyes Oda; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from EEP/WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 589-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Poepoe, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Woodson.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Kahaloa, Kusch, Quinlan; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Matsumoto; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Chun.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to EEP/WAL, FIN, referral sheet 4

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors