SB 2601 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO PROCUREMENT.

Summary

Amends criminal penalties under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code by providing that a person who intentionally violates the code is subject to prosecution for a misdemeanor in cases of egregious violations of the Code. Ensures that awarded contracts are supported by sufficient appropriations by requiring a contract amount that exceeds fifteen per cent of the amount of the appropriation or balance of an appropriation to be approved by the Chief Procurement Officer to become binding. Establishes positions within the State Procurement Office. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action May 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2601_SD1 → SB2601_SD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the legislative metadata, including the sponsor's name and key dates, while maintaining the core policy of limiting state contracts to 10% of available funds. The most significant change is the shift in criminal penalties for procurement violations; the bill now explicitly defines penalties based on intent and frequency, distinguishing between a petty misdemeanor for a first offense and a misdemeanor for subsequent offenses, replacing the previous vague reference to 'egregious violations'.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding procurement rules and funding thresholds remains unchanged, but the enforcement mechanism for violations has been clarified and expanded.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata including the sponsor's name, bill number, and various dates.

ENFORCEMENT

Replaced the vague term 'egregious violations' with specific criminal penalties: a petty misdemeanor for a first intentional violation and a misdemeanor for any subsequent violation.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified the requirement that contracts exceeding the 10% appropriation threshold must be approved by the Chief Procurement Officer to become binding.

TIMELINE

Maintained the effective date of July 1, 2525, in both the main text and the summary.

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

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 3:55 PM; Conference Room 329.

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 12:30 PM; Conference Room 016.

upper

Apr 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 10:20AM; Conference Room 016.

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-30-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.

upper

Apr 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-29-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.

upper

Apr 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-28-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.

upper

Apr 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-27-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 680).

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (5) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa.

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1553-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama, Cochran.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 269) 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

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 4, 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

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM/JDC will hold a public decision making on 03-04-26 10:35AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2472) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM/JDC.

upper

Feb 5, 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, Gabbard, Moriwaki, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Hashimoto.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on GVO has scheduled a public hearing on 02-03-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to GVO, WAM/JDC.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

6 primary · 0 co-sponsors