SB 3296 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Summary

Establishes the Conservation and Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Pilot Program within the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Repeals 6/30/28. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 30, 2026 Last action Mar 5, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB3296 → SB3296_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from an introduced Senate bill to a Senate Draft 1 version, updating metadata and formatting. Substantively, the bill removed a specific exclusion regarding federal programs not aligning with Indigenous practices, added detailed requirements for grant applicants to ensure proper fund usage and compliance, and changed the effective date to July 1, 2050, while keeping the repeal date at June 30, 2028.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include Indigenous and community-based aina restoration practices without the previous caveat about federal alignment, and new procedural requirements were added for grant recipients.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2050.

FISCAL

The specific appropriation amount of $3,000,000 was removed and replaced with a blank line, leaving the amount to be determined.

REQUIREMENT

New subsection (e) was added to mandate that grant applications include detailed plans, proof of licensing, and agreements to indemnify the state and comply with anti-discrimination laws.

ELIGIBILITY

The list of eligible participants was modified to remove the phrase 'and stewardship' from the description of aina restoration organizations.

MODIFIED

A sentence stating that federal programs do not align well with Indigenous practices was removed to improve clarity and inclusivity.

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

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM has rescheduled its decision making to 03-05-26 12:04PM; CR 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-05-26 10:15AM; 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 AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2486) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Richards, Rhoads, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) DeCoite.

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-13-26 3:10PM; CR 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to AEN, WAM.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors