HB 640 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO CHILD WELFARE.

Summary

Requires the Office of the Ombudsman to publish an annual report on its website that identifies the number and nature of complaints that it receives regarding the Child Welfare Services Branch of the Department of Human Services. Requires the Child Welfare Services Branch to provide notification to certain parties that complaints can also be filed with the Office of the Ombudsman. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD3)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB640_HD2 → HB640_HD3 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill number was updated from H.D. 2 to H.D. 3, and the effective date was drastically changed from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 3000. This delay prevents the law from taking effect for over 750 years, effectively nullifying its immediate impact on the Office of the Ombudsman's reporting requirements.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains the same regarding the requirement for the Office of the Ombudsman to publish annual reports on complaints against the Child Welfare Services Branch, but the timeline for enforcement has been extended indefinitely.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 3000, delaying the implementation of new reporting requirements by more than 750 years.

TECHNICAL

The bill designation was updated from H.D. 2 to H.D. 3 to reflect the new House District number.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 6, 2025

Committee

Referred to GVO/HHS, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2025

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 263).

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick, Ward excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 12 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Miyake, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 4 Excused: Representative(s) Lee, M., Morikawa, Alcos, Ward.

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Matayoshi, Poepoe, Ward excused (4).

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 651) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

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, Chun, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 6, 2025

Committee

Reported from LMG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 199) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to HSH.

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on LMG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Holt, Quinlan, Ichiyama, Morikawa, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to LMG, HSH, FIN, referral sheet 2

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

14 primary · 0 co-sponsors