SB 2824 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO BRIBERY.

SB 2824 creates a new misdemeanor offense for individuals who fail to report known bribery. Specifically, it requires public officials or employees who witness or learn about bribery to report it to authorities, and not doing so becomes a punishable offense. The bill directly affects government employees, contractors, and others with potential knowledge of bribery in public contexts. This policy change establishes a clear legal duty to report bribery incidents, adding a new layer of accountability to existing anti-bribery laws.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

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 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB2824 → SB2824_SD1 · 2 edits

MINOR

This bill establishes a misdemeanor offense for public servants who fail to report bribery within 30 days of becoming aware of it. The primary change is the addition of a specific effective date of July 1, 2050, replacing a generic 'upon approval' clause. The bill also updates the bill's metadata to reflect its status as a Senate District 1 version.

Scope change

The bill's substantive scope regarding the bribery reporting requirement remains unchanged; however, the timeline for when the law becomes active is now explicitly set to July 1, 2050.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from 'upon approval' to a fixed date of July 1, 2050.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and metadata were updated to reflect the 'SD1' (Senate District 1) version, including changes to author names and revision numbers.

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 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported from PSM/LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2231) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in PSM were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Fukunaga, Lee, C., Hashimoto, Inouye, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in LBT were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Lamosao, Ihara, Moriwaki, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on PSM/LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 02-04-26 3:00PM; CR 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to PSM/LBT, JDC.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors