HB 2474 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.

Summary

Authorizes the State to enter into nonbinding international cooperative agreements with national governments; national ministries, departments, or agencies; provincial or regional governments; or international intergovernmental bodies relevant to the interests of the State or an international partner. Expands the definition of sister-state or province partnerships to include a partnership between the State and a prefecture or foreign nation. Requires the Hawaii Sister-State and International Partnerships Commission to evaluate how a sister-state or province partnership or international cooperative agreement will enhance certain key state initiatives. (CD1)

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Jan 27, 2026 Signed Jun 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2474_SD1 → HB2474_SD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from Session 1 to Session 2, updating administrative metadata such as the author's name, version numbers, and timestamps. Substantively, the text was reorganized to improve readability by breaking up long paragraphs, and a new requirement was added mandating that the commission evaluate potential international partnerships based on how they support specific state initiatives like economic development, trade, and biosecurity.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on international partnerships, but the evaluation criteria for these partnerships were expanded to explicitly include alignment with key state initiatives.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata including the author's name (Devin Choy), version number (SD2), and revision timestamps.

Reformatted text blocks to improve readability by splitting long sentences into shorter lines.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory requirement for the commission to assess how proposed international agreements will enhance specific state initiatives, including economic development, trade, education, agriculture, and biosecurity.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified the legislative process by adjusting the phrasing regarding the legislature's authority to implement commission recommendations.

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 Representative(s) Iwamoto 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

May 1, 2026

Introduced

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

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 153-26).

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 153-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Tam, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

May 1, 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) Lee, C., DeCoite, Kanuha; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 4:32PM in Conference Room 411.

lower

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 11:40 AM; Conference Room 411.

upper

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 11:00AM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-30-26 11:00AM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-28-26 11:00AM; Conference Room 229.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 696) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). 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

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-01-26 10:03AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from WLA/EDT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3395) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Fukunaga; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kim, Fevella.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA/EDT has scheduled a public hearing on 03-23-26 1:15PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to WLA/EDT, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 111).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Mar 2, 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; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 423-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Holt, Tam, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to ECD, FIN, referral sheet 6

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

15 primary · 0 co-sponsors