SB 2698 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

Summary

Requires the Department of Transportation to assess a per passenger head fee against cruise ships docking in the State's commercial harbors in addition to existing port user fees. Establishes the Cruise Ship Special Fund. Repeals existing law imposing the Transient Accommodations Tax on cruise ships, effective retroactive to 1/1/2026. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

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 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2698_SD1 → SB2698_SD2 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised from Session 1 to Session 2, updating the legislative sponsor from Noah Holck to Joseph Brown and adjusting internal tracking numbers. The most significant policy change is the effective date, which was moved from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2050, while retaining a retroactive application to January 1, 2026. This revision also updates the summary description to reflect the new 2050 effective date.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the Cruise Ship Special Fund remains unchanged, but the timeline for when the new funding rules and tax repeals officially take effect has been extended by nearly 24 years.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the Act was changed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2050, though the repeal of the Transient Accommodations Tax remains retroactive to January 1, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The bill sponsor was updated from Noah Holck to Joseph Brown, and associated internal tracking numbers and dates were adjusted to reflect the new session version.

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. 692).

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Amato, Cochran, Gedeon, Shimizu, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Iwamoto, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Reyes Oda voting no (6) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Apr 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Yamashita; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Hussey, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Perruso, Alcos; and Excused: none.

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Gedeon, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Pierick, Reyes Oda, Shimizu, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia voting no (2) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4).

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from TOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1531-26), recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on TOU recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Tam, Templo, Hussey, Ilagan, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1236-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to TOU.

lower

Mar 17, 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; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Cochran, Muraoka, Pierick; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRN, TOU, FIN, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 285) 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: Senator(s) DeCoite, Elefante, San Buenaventura. 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, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) San Buenaventura ; 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 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from TRS/EDT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2589) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM/JDC.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Fukunaga, Kim, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 10, 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, Kanuha, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on TRS/EDT has scheduled a public hearing on 02-10-26 3:01PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to TRS/EDT, WAM/JDC.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors