SB 2615 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO SCHOOL CAFETERIA MEAL COSTS.

SB 2615 requires public school districts to charge students at least one-quarter of the actual cost to prepare each school meal. This directly affects students and families who purchase meals at public schools, as it sets a minimum price floor for meal costs. The bill mandates that the Department of Education enforce this requirement, ensuring meal prices cover at least 25% of the preparation expenses. It establishes a concrete policy change in school meal pricing without altering eligibility or funding mechanisms.

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 23, 2026 Last action Apr 16, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB2615 → SB2615_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill updates the effective date of the legislation from immediate approval to July 1, 3000, and modifies the pricing requirement for school meals to ensure funds cover 'no less than' one-quarter of the cost, removing a previous ambiguity regarding the 'one-half' threshold. The change clarifies that the Department of Education must charge fees sufficient to cover at least 25% of meal preparation costs, while retaining provisions for free or reduced-rate meals based on economic need.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on school cafeteria meal costs, but the timeline for implementation is significantly altered to a future date of July 1, 3000.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from 'upon approval' to 'July 1, 3000', delaying the enforcement of the new pricing rules.

REQUIREMENT

The pricing requirement was adjusted to explicitly state that meal costs must cover 'no less than one-quarter' of the preparation cost, removing a bracketed alternative that previously suggested 'one-half'.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated to reflect version 'HD1', and various metadata fields such as author names and document dates were updated to reflect the new version history.

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. 683).

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). 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: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1382-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 273).

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

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-03-26 10:17AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to WAM.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2339) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in EDU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga, Hashimoto.

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 02-13-26 1:05PM; CR 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDU, WAM.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

7 primary · 4 co-sponsors