SB 2088 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE PLANS FOR WORKERS.

Summary

Requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, in consultation with the Insurance Commissioner, to establish and implement a five-year voluntary Nontraditional Workforce Portable Health Care Benefit Plan Pilot Program that offers high deductible health plans or catastrophic health plans to nontraditional workers who are ineligible for health benefits provided by the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund or prepaid health care plans under the Prepaid Health Care Act. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Mar 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2088_HD1 → SB2088_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to shift from a House draft to a Senate version, updating administrative details and refining the language to ensure federal compliance. The most significant policy change is the extension of the bill's effective date from the year 3000 to January 1, 2077, likely to align with a future federal mandate or legislative strategy. The scope was narrowed slightly by removing the specific mention of 'high deductible' plans in the pilot program description and clarifying that seasonal workers are excluded from eligibility.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on creating a pilot program for nontraditional workers, but the specific plan types offered were slightly clarified, and seasonal workers were explicitly excluded from eligibility.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from July 1, 3000, to January 1, 2077, significantly delaying when the law goes into force.

SCOPE

The description of the pilot program was updated to remove the specific phrase 'high deductible' when listing plan types, though the term is still defined elsewhere.

ELIGIBILITY

The definition of 'nontraditional worker' was updated to explicitly exclude persons employed in seasonal employment.

TECHNICAL

Several minor text corrections were made, such as changing 'United States' to 'Unites States' in one instance and adding 'defined' to legal definitions of tax terms.

REQUIREMENT

The department responsible for administering the program was specified as the 'department of labor and industrial relations' instead of just 'the department'.

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 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1263-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Kong; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Reyes Oda.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to LAB, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 164) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in CPN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fukunaga, McKelvey; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Lamosao, Awa.

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM/CPN will hold a public decision making on 03-03-26 10:16AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Committee

Reported from LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2117) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM/CPN.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in LBT were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Lamosao, Ihara, Moriwaki, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 01-28-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Committee

Referred to LBT, WAM/CPN.

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

7 primary · 1 co-sponsor