HB1510 • 2026

RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: MATAYOSHI, KILA
Last action: 2026-05-14
Official status: Act 012, on 05/14/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1112).
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES.
Certificates of Inspection; License Plates; Obstruction; Enforcement Conditions the issuance of a certificate of inspection upon a vehicle not being equipped with any cover or shield installed over the license plate.
Amends the penalty for obstruction of a license plate.
Allows state or county parking enforcement officers and persons authorized by a state or county law enforcement agency to issue citations for vehicles with a cover or shield obstructing the license plate.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB1510 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1510 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1510 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES .

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: HB1510 HD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1510 HD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1510 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES .

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: This amendment changes the requirements for issuing certificates of inspection to ensure vehicles do not have covers or shields over their license plates, increases penalties for obstructing license plates, and allows parking enforcement officers to issue citations for such violations.

Certificates of inspection will no longer be issued if a vehicle has any cover or shield installed over its license plate.
The penalty for violating the obstruction rule is increased from $500 to at least $1,000 per offense.
Parking enforcement officers and other authorized law enforcement personnel can now issue citations for obstructing license plates.

The exact fee amount for replacing lost, stolen, or destroyed inspection stickers is not specified in the amendment text.

Bill History

2026-05-14 H
Act 012, on 05/14/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1112).
2026-05-14 S
Act 012, 05/14/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1112).
2026-04-24 S
Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 823).
2026-04-23 H
Transmitted to Governor.
2026-04-23 H
Passed Final Reading as amended in SD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia voting no (2) and Representative(s) Evslin excused (1).
2026-04-23 H
House agrees to Senate amendment(s).
2026-04-23 S
Received notice of House reconsideration of action in disagreeing to the amendments proposed by the Senate (Hse. Com. No. 814).
2026-04-22 H
Reconsideration of action taken on 04-14-26.
2026-04-16 S
Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 599).
2026-04-14 H
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
2026-04-10 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 520) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-04-10 S
Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Awa). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-09 S
One Day Notice 04-10-26.
2026-04-09 S
Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3655) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-31 S
The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-03-25 S
The committee(s) on JDC has scheduled a public hearing on 03-31-26 10:30AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.
2026-03-23 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC.
2026-03-23 S
Reported from TRS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3111) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.
2026-03-17 S
The committee(s) on TRS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in TRS were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Elefante, Kanuha, Lee, C., DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-03-13 S
The committee(s) on TRS has rescheduled its public hearing to 03-17-26 3:00PM; CR 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-13 S
The committee(s) on TRS has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 3:05PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-12 S
Referred to TRS, JDC.
2026-03-12 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-12 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 232).
2026-03-10 H
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1171-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-05 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Kahaloa, Takayama, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Hashem, Sayama.
2026-03-03 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 03-05-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-18 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
2026-02-18 H
Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 438-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
2026-02-12 H
The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Miyake, Cochran, Evslin, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Grandinetti.
2026-02-10 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by TRN on Thursday, 02-12-26 8:30AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-26 H
Referred to TRN, JHA, referral sheet 1
2026-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-14 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO LICENSE PLATES.
Certificates of Inspection; License Plates; Obstruction; Enforcement
Conditions the issuance of a certificate of inspection upon a vehicle not being equipped with any cover or shield installed over the license plate. Amends the penalty for obstruction of a license plate. Allows state or county parking enforcement officers and persons authorized by a state or county law enforcement agency to issue citations for vehicles with a cover or shield obstructing the license plate. Repeals the requirement that a cover or shield be intended to alter or interfere with the visibility, legibility, or identification of a license plate by law enforcement or traffic enforcement systems. Effective 1/1/2027. (SD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB1510

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1510

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO LICENSE PLATES
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section 286-26,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

����
1.
�

By amending subsection (e) to read:

����
"
(e)
�
Upon application for a
certificate of inspection to be issued for a vehicle or moped, an inspection as
prescribed by the director under subsection (g) shall be conducted on the
vehicle or moped.
�
[
If
]
A certificate
of inspection shall be issued upon payment of a fee to be determined by the
director if
the vehicle or moped is found to be in safe operating
condition,
including [
adhering to head lamp requirements and
specifications pursuant to section 291-25(a), as applicable, and is not
]
:

����
(1)
�
Not being
equipped with a
muffler or exhaust system that fails to comply with section 291-24 or 291-24.5,
as applicable[
,
a certificate of inspection
shall be issued upon payment of a fee to be determined by the director.
]
;

����
(2)
�
Adhering to head lamp requirements
and specifications pursuant to section 291-25(a), as applicable; and

����
(3)
�
Not being equipped with any cover or
shield installed over the license plate pursuant to section 286-73, as
applicable.

The certificate shall state the
effective date, termination date, name of the issuing insurance carrier, policy
number of the motor vehicle insurance identification card for the inspected
motor vehicle as specified by section 431:10C-107 or state the information
contained in the proof of insurance card as specified by section 431:10G-106,
and the odometer reading of the vehicle on the date of inspection.
�
A sticker, authorized by the director, shall
be affixed to the vehicle or moped at the time a certificate of inspection is
issued.
�
An inspection sticker that has
been lost, stolen, or destroyed shall be replaced without reinspection by the
inspection station that issued the original inspection sticker upon presentation
of the current certificate of inspection; provided that the current certificate
of inspection and inspection sticker shall not have expired at the time the
replacement is requested.
�
The director
shall adopt rules to determine the fee for replacement of lost, stolen, or
destroyed inspection stickers."

����
2.
�

By amending subsection (g) to read:

����
"
(g)
�
The director of transportation shall adopt
necessary rules for the administration of inspections and the issuance of
certificates of inspection; provided that the rules shall[
:
]
, at a
minimum:

����
(1)
�
[
At a minimum,
require
]
Require
inspections to ensure that a vehicle or moped is
not equipped with a muffler or exhaust system that fails to comply with section
291-24 or 291-24.5, as applicable; [
and
]

����
(2)
�
Include head lamp
requirements that adhere to the specifications pursuant to section 291-25(a),
as applicable[
.
]
; and

����
(3)
�
Require
inspections to ensure that a vehicle is not equipped with any cover or shield
installed over the license plate pursuant to section 286-73.
"

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 286-73, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

����
"
[
[
]
�286-73[
]
]
�
Obstruction
of a license plate; prohibited.
�

(a)
�
The use of any cover or shield
installed over a vehicle's license plate, regardless of transparency or intent,
shall be prohibited.

����
(b)
�

Any person
, seller, or dealership
who violates this section shall
be fined no less than [
$500 and no more than
] $1,000 for each
offense.
�
Each day of violation shall
constitute a separate offense.

����
(c)
�
In addition to any person authorized to
enforce this chapter, any person authorized by the State or a county to enforce
parking violations may issue a citation for a violation of this section.

����
(d)
�
For the purposes of this section,
"cover" or "shield" means any device, material, or [
film�whether
]

film, whether
clear, tinted, mirrored, reflective, or otherwise
,

that is installed over or affixed to a license plate[
, and is intended to
alter or interfere with the visibility, legibility, or identification of the
license plate by law enforcement or traffic enforcement systems
]."

����
SECTION 3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Certificates
of Inspection; License Plates; Obstruction; Enforcement

Description:

Conditions
the issuance of a certificate of inspection upon a vehicle not being equipped
with any cover or shield installed over the license plate.
�
Amends the penalty for obstruction of a
license plate.
�
Allows state or county
parking enforcement officers to issue citations for vehicles with a cover or
shield obstructing the license plate.
�

Repeals the requirement that a cover or shield be intended to alter or
interfere with the visibility, legibility, or identification of a license plate
by law enforcement or traffic enforcement systems.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.