SB 2119 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO REIMBURSEMENT OF PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

Summary

Requires the State or a county to reimburse an officer or employee for work-related travel costs that the officer or employee loaned to the State or a county within 30 calendar days of submitting an approved Statement of Completed Travel with detailed expenditures and related receipts. Requires the State or a county to pay interest on a loan not reimbursed within 30 days until the loan is fully reimbursed. Obligates an officer or employee to request a complete refund from the travel vendor for travel not taken through no fault of their own, and entitles an officer or employee to reimbursement from the State or a county when a travel vendor offers no or a partial refund. Effective 1/1/2077. (SD1)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB2119 → SB2119_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates reimbursement rules for public officials and employees who advance their own funds for travel. It now requires detailed receipts and proof of expenses to be submitted alongside the travel statement. Additionally, officials are only required to seek refunds from vendors if the cancellation was not their fault, and they can claim reimbursement for the difference between the total cost and the vendor refund, excluding personal deviations.

REQUIREMENT

Reimbursement now requires the submission of detailed expenditures and related receipts along with the travel statement.

Interest on unpaid travel loans is no longer fixed at a specific percentage but is now determined by the comptroller.

Reimbursement for partial vendor refunds is now limited to the approved portion of travel costs, explicitly excluding personal deviation costs.

ELIGIBILITY

Officials are only obligated to seek vendor refunds if the travel cancellation or inability to participate occurs through no fault of their own.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the act was changed to January 1, 2077.

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

Feb 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from LBT/GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2544) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in GVO were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) McKelvey, Hashimoto, Moriwaki, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard.

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT/GVO has rescheduled its public hearing to 02-11-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT/GVO deleted the measure from the public hearing scheduled on 02-09-26 3:00PM; CR 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT/GVO has scheduled a public hearing on 02-09-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Committee

Referred to LBT/GVO, WAM.

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

4 primary · 1 co-sponsor