HB 2231 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO ISLAND BURIAL COUNCILS.

Summary

Transfers the appointment authority for Island Burial Council members from the Governor and Senate to the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 26, 2026 Last action Mar 10, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB2231 → HB2231_HD1 · 2 edits

MINOR

This bill transfers the authority to appoint members of Island Burial Councils from the Governor and Senate to the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The change aims to ensure appointments are culturally appropriate and reflect genealogical connections, addressing previous issues of stalled decisions and community distrust. The effective date of the law is set to July 1, 3000, likely as a placeholder for future legislative action.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded by shifting appointment authority from the executive and legislative branches to a specific state agency (Office of Hawaiian Affairs), thereby changing who has the power to select council members.

REQUIREMENT

Appointment authority for Island Burial Council members was transferred from the Governor and Senate to the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

TIMELINE

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

Floor votes · House Mar 6, 2026

How they voted

47–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 50

Mar 6, 2026

D Democratic40

37 Yea 3

92% Yea

R Republican10

10 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 10, 2026

Senate · Referred to committee

Referred to HWN/WLA, JDC.

Mar 10, 2026

Senate · Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 195).

Mar 6, 2026

House · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso, Quinlan, Sayama excused (3). Transmitted to Senate.

Feb 26, 2026

House · Reported by committee

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

Feb 20, 2026

House · Referred to committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 705-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

Feb 19, 2026

House · Reported by committee

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

Jan 30, 2026

House · Referred to committee

Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 5

Jan 28, 2026

House · Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

Jan 26, 2026

House · Introduced

Pending introduction.

11 primary · 0 co-sponsors