HR 50 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI BOARD OF REGENTS TO CONSIDER RENAMING LEEWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO PUʻULOA COMMUNITY COLLEGE.

This bill is a non-binding request asking the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents to consider renaming Leeward Community College to Puʻuloa Community College. The proposal aims to reflect the cultural and historical significance of the Puʻuloa area on Oʻahu, which is known for its traditional fishponds and deep Hawaiian heritage. If adopted, the change would require official approval from the Board of Regents, which has authority over university operations, and would involve consulting with campus stakeholders and the broader community. The resolution does not mandate the name change but formally encourages the Board to evaluate the request as part of its decision-making process.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 12, 2026 Last action Apr 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HR50 → HR50_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated with new metadata, including a change in the legislative session to the Thirty-Third Legislature (2026) and a shift in the language style to a more formal, all-caps format. The substantive text regarding the request to rename Leeward Community College to Puʻuloa Community College remains the same, though the 'Whereas' clauses were slightly rephrased to emphasize historical resource management over food production specifically. These changes appear to be technical updates to the bill's formatting and session details rather than alterations to the core policy.

TECHNICAL

Updated the legislative session header to reflect the Thirty-Third Legislature and changed the language style to all-caps.

Rephrased the 'Whereas' clauses to describe traditional loko iʻa as part of established systems of resource management rather than solely food production.

Added new metadata fields such as file paths, timestamps, and unique identifiers.

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

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Resolution adopted in final form.

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Adopted as amended in HD 1 with Representative(s) Garcia, Gedeon, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1).

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1893-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending adoption.

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Sayama, Cochran.

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Nakamura, Perruso excused (2).

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Committee

Reported from HED (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1565-26), recommending referral to JHA.

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HED recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Amato, Kapela, Kila, La Chica, Olds, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Evslin, Woodson, Muraoka.

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to HED, JHA, referral sheet 18

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Introduced

Offered

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

To be offered.

lower

7 primary · 0 co-sponsors