SB 2778 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO ETHICS.

Summary

Requires a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, department heads and their deputies, and any spouse or dependent child of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, or department head and their deputies to place certain financial interests in a blind trust. Prohibits a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, department head and their deputies, and any spouse or dependent child of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, member of the Legislature, or department head and their deputies from acquiring certain financial interests during their term of service. 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 23, 2026 Last action Feb 18, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB2778 → SB2778_SD1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the ethics rules for Hawaii's top officials and their families regarding blind trusts, primarily by clarifying definitions, expanding who must divest assets, and adjusting effective dates. The changes ensure that 'covered investments' are clearly defined and that officials and their spouses or dependent children are held to stricter standards for placing assets in blind trusts or divesting them entirely.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include the First Deputy Attorney General in the list of officials subject to the blind trust requirements, whereas the previous version had a more limited application for that department.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Current official' was changed from starting service before July 1, 2026, to being in service as of June 30, 2026, to clarify the cutoff date.

The definition of 'New official' was updated to include anyone beginning service on or after July 1, 2026, ensuring no gap in coverage.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement was added allowing officials to cause a covered investment owned by a spouse or dependent child to be divested or placed in a blind trust, not just the official's own assets.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was moved from July 1, 2026, to January 1, 2077, likely to align with a future legislative session or specific implementation timeline.

ENFORCEMENT

The enforcement section was clarified to specify that fines are imposed for each thirty-day period the failure to comply continues, rather than just every thirty days from the initial notice.

SCOPE

The definition of 'official' was explicitly expanded to include the First Deputy Attorney General, ensuring they are subject to the same ethics rules as the Attorney General.

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 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2315) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC/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 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to LBT, JDC/WAM.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

2 primary · 2 co-sponsors