HB1785 • 2026

RELATING TO STUDENT TRANSPORTATION.

Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: LA CHICA, AMATO, GRANDINETTI, HUSSEY, ILAGAN, IWAMOTO, KAHALOA, KAPELA, KILA, LOWEN, MARTEN, MATAYOSHI, MATSUMOTO, MIYAKE, OLDS, PERRUSO, QUINLAN, REYES ODA, SHIMIZU, SOUZA, TAKAYAMA, TARNAS
Last action: 2026-05-07
Official status: Transmitted to Governor.
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 STUDENT TRANSPORTATION.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO STUDENT TRANSPORTATION.
DOE; Superintendent; Student Transportation; Penalty; School Bus Fare Revolving Fund Authorizes the Superintendent to hire a new contractor if a contractor under a student transportation contract fails to provide service on a contracted service capacity or designated service segment for five or more consecutive instructional days.
Authorizes the Department of Education to assess a penalty if a contractor fails to provide service on a designated service segment without an approved justification.
Authorizes the use of the School Bus Fare Revolving Fund to offset costs associated with procuring replacement services.

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.

CD1

Hawaii published version CD1

Plain English: HB1785 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1785 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1785 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB1785 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1785 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1785 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STUDENT TRANSPORTATION .

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: HB1785 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1785 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1785 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

Bill History

2026-05-08 S
Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888).
2026-05-07 H
Transmitted to Governor.
2026-05-06 H
Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816).
2026-05-06 H
Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
2026-05-06 S
Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.
2026-05-01 S
48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26
2026-05-01 S
Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 108-26).
2026-05-01 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26.
2026-05-01 H
Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 108-26) as amended in (CD 1).
2026-04-30 S
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.
2026-04-30 H
The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) La Chica, Lee, M., Olds, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-04-29 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-30-26 2:45PM in conference room 229.
2026-04-28 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Wednesday 04-29-26 3:00PM in conference room 229.
2026-04-27 S
Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-28-26 2:55PM; Conference Room 229.
2026-04-27 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 778).
2026-04-27 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: Kim Chair; Hashimoto Co-Chair; DeCorte.
2026-04-20 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 786).
2026-04-20 H
House Conferees Appointed: La Chica, Lee, M. Co-Chairs; Olds, Woodson, Souza.
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. 527) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-04-10 S
Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-09 S
One Day Notice 04-10-26.
2026-04-09 S
Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3637) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
2026-04-07 S
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, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..
2026-04-02 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:31AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-03-30 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2026-03-30 S
Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3386) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2026-03-23 S
The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga.
2026-03-18 S
The committee(s) on EDU deferred the measure until 03-23-26 1:10PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-16 S
The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-18-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-10 S
Referred to EDU, WAM.
2026-03-10 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-10 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 157).
2026-03-06 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso, Sayama excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 949-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-03 H
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.
2026-02-27 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Tuesday, 03-03-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-19 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
2026-02-19 H
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 488-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2026-02-12 H
The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Garrett.
2026-02-10 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Thursday, 02-12-26 2:00PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-26 H
Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 1
2026-01-22 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-21 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO STUDENT TRANSPORTATION.
DOE; Superintendent; Student Transportation; Penalty; School Bus Fare Revolving Fund
Authorizes the Superintendent to hire a new contractor if a contractor under a student transportation contract fails to provide service on a contracted service capacity or designated service segment for five or more consecutive instructional days. Authorizes the Department of Education to assess a penalty if a contractor fails to provide service on a designated service segment without an approved justification. Authorizes the use of the School Bus Fare Revolving Fund to offset costs associated with procuring replacement services. (CD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB1785

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1785

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to student transportation
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that, while the number
of school bus drivers has increased since the governor's August 2, 2024,
emergency proclamation relating to school bus services, the department of
education continues to experience a school bus driver shortage.

����
The
legislature further finds that some school bus contractors enter into contracts
but are later unable to provide transportation for all contracted routes.
�
Under existing law, the department of
education cannot simply cancel or reassign the unfulfilled portion of the
contract.
�
This leaves students without
access to school transportation.

����
The
purpose of this Act is to provide the department of education with flexibility
to remove or suspend portions of school bus contracts if the contractor does
not provide services for five or more instructional days.

����
SECTION
2.
�
Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part II, subpart C, to be
appropriately designated and to read as follows:

����
"
�302A-
��

��
S
tudent transportation contracts; failure to provide service.
�
(a)
�
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary,
when a contractor under a student transportation contract
fails to provide service on a contracted route for five or more consecutive
instructional days
, the department may recommend to the governor the
suspension or removal of the affected route or routes from the contract.

����
(b)
�
The governor may specify conditions and
timelines for, and other limitations on, the suspension or removal of a route,
as deemed necessary to protect the public interest.

����
(c)
�
Upon written approval by the governor, the
department may:

����
(1)
�
Remove or temporarily suspend the
affected route or routes from the contract; and

����
(2)
�
Enter into an interim agreement with
another qualified carrier to provide transportation for the affected route or
routes.

����
(d)
�
An interim agreement executed under this
section shall be exempt from chapter 103D; provided that:

����
(1)
�
The agreement shall be limited to
the scope of the suspended or removed route or routes;

����
(2)
�
The agreement shall not exceed
thirty months in duration; and

����
(3)
�
The department shall ensure
compliance with all applicable student safety standards.

����
(e)
�
The department shall complete a competitive
procurement under chapter 103D for a permanent replacement service within
thirty months of executing an interim agreement under subsection (d).

����
(f)
�
The department shall assess a financial
penalty against any contractor that fails to provide service on a contracted
route without an approved justification.
�

The penalty shall be twenty-five per cent of the daily contract for each
day the route is unfulfilled.
�
Collected
penalties shall be deposited into the school bus fare revolving fund under
section 302A-407.5

and may be expended to offset costs associated with
procuring replacement services.

����
(g)
�
The removal or suspension of a route under
this section, and the execution of an interim agreement, shall not otherwise
affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining portions of the
contract.
"

����
SECTION

3
.
�
Section
302A-407.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

����
"
[
[
]�302A-407.5[
]
]
�
School bus fare revolving fund.
�
(a)
�

There is established in the state treasury the school bus fare revolving
fund, into which shall be deposited [
all
]
:

����
(1)
�
All
moneys received from
students and parents or guardians of students by public schools for
state-provided school busing services, as authorized by section 302A-406[
.
]
;
and

����
(2)
�
Financial penalties assessed under
section 302A-
��
.

����
(b)
�
Except as otherwise provided by the
legislature, moneys in the school bus fare revolving fund shall be used [
for
]
:

����
(1)
�
For
school busing services, as
authorized by section 302A-406[
.
]
; and

����
(2)
�
To offset costs associated with procuring
replacement services for a student transportation contact under section
302A-
��
.
"

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act does
not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and
proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

����
SECTION
5.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION
6.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DOE;
Student Transportation; Governor

Description:

Authorizes
the Department of Education to hire a new contractor if a contractor under a
student transportation contract fails to provide service on a contracted route
for five or more consecutive instructional days.
�
Requires the Department to assess a penalty if
a contractor fails to provide service on a contracted route without an approved
justification.
�
Specifies that the
assessed penalties be deposited into the school bus fare revolving fund.
�
Authorizes the use of the school bus fare
revolving fund to offset costs associated with procuring replacement services.

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