HB 2397 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES.

Summary

Transfers school impact fees from the Kalihi-Ala Moana school impact district to the School Impact Fees subaccount of the School Facilities Special Fund for the acquisition and renovation of one or more buildings, or the acquisition of land and construction of a new building, in the 96813 zip code to develop and expand pre-kindergarten and charter school capacity. Provides that the funds appropriated and expended shall be used to serve students residing within the Kalihi-Ala Moana school impact district, with certain exceptions. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 27, 2026 Last action Mar 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2397_HD2 → HB2397_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to allow funds to be used for acquiring land and constructing new buildings, not just renovating existing ones, specifically targeting the 96813 zip code. A new section was added to mandate that these funds primarily serve students within the Kalihi-Ala Moana school impact district, prioritizing local enrollment over outside applicants. The report title was also updated to reflect these changes in scope and purpose.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from renovating existing buildings in downtown Honolulu to potentially acquiring land and constructing new buildings in the 96813 zip code.

SCOPE

Expanded allowable uses of funds to include the acquisition of land and construction of new buildings, in addition to renovating existing ones.

Narrowed the geographic focus from the general 'downtown Honolulu area' to the specific '96813 zip code'.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a requirement that funds must be used to serve students residing in the Kalihi-Ala Moana school impact district, with outside students only eligible if space is available.

REQUIREMENT

Mandated that the expending agency prioritize in-district students and ensure expenditures align with the impacts generated within the district.

TECHNICAL

Updated the report title and summary text to accurately reflect the new construction options and district-specific eligibility requirements.

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

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from HOU/EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3233) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Elefante; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Rhoads ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga.

upper

Mar 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU/EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to HOU/EDU, WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 410).

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

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. 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; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 520-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Garrett.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 6

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

12 primary · 0 co-sponsors