SB 688 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

SB 688 appropriates state funds to establish grant specialist positions within the Department of Agriculture. These specialists will directly support the department’s administration of agricultural grant programs, helping farmers and agribusinesses navigate funding applications. The bill becomes effective on July 1, 2050, and does not alter existing grant eligibility or funding amounts. It directly affects the Department of Agriculture by adding staff roles focused on grant management.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB688 → SB688_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a House bill to a Senate version (SD1), updating metadata and formatting. The most significant substantive change is the effective date, which was delayed from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2050. Additionally, the text was slightly expanded to clarify that grant specialists will assist with grants from the State, counties, or private entities, and to specify that these positions will prioritize local food producers.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on establishing grant specialist positions within the Department of Agriculture to assist farmers and ranchers, but the implementation timeline has been drastically extended.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2050, delaying the implementation of the grant specialist positions by 25 years.

TECHNICAL

The bill type was updated from 'SB' to 'SD1' (Senate Draft 1), and associated metadata such as revision numbers and timestamps were updated to reflect the new version.

REQUIREMENT

Text was added to clarify that grant specialists will assist with grants from the State, counties, or private entities, and to explicitly state that these positions will prioritize assisting farmers and ranchers who produce local food consumed within the State.

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 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Committee

Reported from AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 14) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Jan 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Richards, DeCoite, Rhoads, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Jan 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 01-27-25 1:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 23, 2025

Committee

Referred to AEN, WAM.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors