SB 3238 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO LANGUAGE ACCESS.

SB 3238 establishes a language access education and workforce development program at the University of Hawaii to train professionals in providing language services. It appropriates state funds to support this program, which directly affects communities with limited English proficiency and government agencies needing interpreters or translators. The key mechanism is creating a dedicated training initiative at UH to build a skilled workforce for language access services. This bill focuses on concrete policy changes by funding workforce development rather than altering existing services or regulations.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Signed Jun 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB3238_HD1 → SB3238_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised from the House version to the Senate version, primarily updating administrative details and correcting a significant error in the effective date. The most critical change is fixing the law's start date from the impossible year 3000 to 2026, ensuring the program can actually begin. Additionally, the Senate version clarifies the program's administration by removing the Department of Labor from the list of collaborating entities and streamlines the admission requirements for applicants without a Seal of Biliteracy.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on establishing a biliteracy program at the University of Hawaii, but the administrative scope was narrowed by removing the Department of Labor from the list of required collaborators.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was corrected from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2026, making the law operative immediately upon passage.

FISCAL

The appropriation was updated to specify funding for three full-time equivalent (3.0 FTE) positions, replacing a blank placeholder found in the House version.

REQUIREMENT

Admission requirements were streamlined by removing the specific mandate that all non-preferred applicants must obtain the Global Seal of Biliteracy credential, instead requiring them to demonstrate proficiency in English and one additional language.

SCOPE

The list of entities collaborating with the University of Hawaii to administer the program was modified to remove the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

TECHNICAL

Administrative metadata, including the bill author's name, document revision numbers, and internal tracking codes, were updated to reflect the Senate 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

May 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.

upper

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 209-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

May 1, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26.

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 209-26).

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Miyake, Amato, Kapela, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 5:50PM in Conference Room 229.

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 5:15PM in Conference Room 229.

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 3:10PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-30-26 3:00PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 3:00PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 04-24-26 2:30PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 766).

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 23, 2026

Committee

Reported from HED (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1318-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HED recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Amato, Evslin, Kila, La Chica, Olds, Woodson, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kapela.

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to HED, FIN, referral sheet 16

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 126) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Ihara). 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 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-25-26 10:56AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2613) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU has rescheduled its public hearing to 02-18-26 1:02PM; CR 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU deleted the measure from the public hearing scheduled on 02-09-26 1:05PM; CR 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 02-09-26 1:05PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDU, WAM.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

4 primary · 2 co-sponsors