SB 2253 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY.

SB 2253 updates the "negligent injury in the first degree" offense to explicitly include injuries caused by drivers operating vehicles while intoxicated. This change directly affects drivers who cause injury to others while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The bill modifies the legal definition so that such incidents are prosecuted under this specific charge, ensuring they are treated as deliberate negligence under existing law. It does not change penalty levels but clarifies that intoxicated driving causing injury falls within this offense.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Apr 16, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2253_SD1 → SB2253_SD2 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill updates the effective date of the legislation from February 2026 to July 1, 2026, and corrects the legislative session number from the 33rd to the 34th. The core legal text regarding penalties for negligent injury remains largely the same, though the formatting of the statute was adjusted to improve readability by removing redundant line breaks and clarifying the definition of intoxication.

Scope change

The bill's scope of applicability remains unchanged, as the substantive criminal penalties for negligent injury are not altered.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the law was changed from February 6, 2026, to July 1, 2026, giving more time for implementation.

TECHNICAL

The legislative session number was updated from the 33rd Legislature to the 34th Legislature to reflect the current year.

Formatting and line breaks within the statutory text were cleaned up to improve clarity, such as combining fragmented sentences regarding intoxication.

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

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 639).

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Apr 8, 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, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Sayama, Cochran.

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1475-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Miyake, Evslin, Grandinetti, Kitagawa, La Chica, Cochran, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRN, JHA, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 200) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Mar 10, 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

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 02-27-26 10:30AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2141) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TRS were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Elefante, Lee, C., DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Kanuha.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS has scheduled a public hearing on 02-03-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRS, JDC.

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors