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HB180 • 2026

RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS.

RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS.

Children Taxes
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
LAMOSAO, BELATTI, CHUN, GRANDINETTI, KAPELA, KILA, KITAGAWA, LOWEN, MIYAKE, MORIKAWA, OLDS, PERRUSO, POEPOE, QUINLAN, TAKENOUCHI, TODD
Last action
2025-12-08
Official status
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
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 GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS.

RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS.

What This Bill Does

  • RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS.
  • General Excise Tax; WIC; Groceries; Exemption Exempts the tax collected on the sale of groceries that are eligible under the supplemental nutrition assistance program or special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, regardless of the means of purchase and the program eligibility of the purchaser.

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.

Bill History

  1. 2025-12-08 D

    Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

  2. 2025-01-21 H

    Referred to HSH, ECD, FIN, referral sheet 1

  3. 2025-01-16 H

    Introduced and Pass First Reading.

  4. 2025-01-14 H

    Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTIONS.
General Excise Tax; WIC; Groceries; Exemption
Exempts the tax collected on the sale of groceries that are eligible under the supplemental nutrition assistance program or special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, regardless of the means of purchase and the program eligibility of the purchaser.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB180

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

180

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to general excise tax exemptions
.

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

����
SECTION
1.
�
Chapter 237, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read
as follows:

����
"
�237-
�
Exemption for groceries.
�
(a)
�
Notwithstanding

any provision of law to the contrary, there shall be exempted from, and
excluded from the measure of, the taxes imposed by this chapter all of the
gross proceeds or income received from the sale of all groceries eligible for
purchase under the supplemental nutrition assistance program and special
supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children within the
State, regardless of the means of purchase and the eligibility of the purchaser
for supplemental nutrition assistance program or special supplemental nutrition
program for women, infants, and children benefits.

����
(b)
�
For
the purposes of this section:

����
"Food" or "food product"
means substances, whether in liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried, or
dehydrated form, that are sold for ingestion or chewing by humans and are
consumed for their taste or nutritional value.

����
"Groceries" means any food or food
product for home consumption.
�
"Groceries"
may be further defined by the department of taxation by rule through the
enumeration of items in rules or tax informational release; provided that the
department shall consult with the federal Food and Nutrition Service of the
United States Department of Agriculture in further defining the term
"groceries" for purposes of the supplemental nutrition assistance
program and special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and
children.
"

����
SECTION
2.
�
New statutory material is
underscored.

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

General
Excise Tax; WIC; Groceries; Exemption

Description:

Exempts
the tax collected on the sale of groceries that are eligible under the
supplemental nutrition assistance program or special supplemental nutrition
program for women, infants, and children, regardless of the means of purchase
and the program eligibility of the purchaser.

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