HB2019 • 2026

RELATING TO EARLY LEARNING.

Budget Children Education

Active

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

Sponsor: HOLT, GRANDINETTI, ICHIYAMA, ILAGAN, KAHALOA, KILA, KITAGAWA, KUSCH, LEE, M., LOWEN, MATAYOSHI, MIYAKE, MORIKAWA, OLDS, POEPOE, TAKENOUCHI, TARNAS, TODD
Last action: 2026-03-10
Official status: Referred to EDU, WAM.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify the exact amount of funds appropriated or how many programs will be supported by these funds.

Supporting Family-Child Interaction Programs

This bill provides funding to the Executive Office on Early Learning to support family-child interaction learning programs in Hawaii.

What This Bill Does

Appropriates funds for the Executive Office on Early Learning to administer funding for family-child interaction learning programs.

Who It Names or Affects

Children aged birth to five years old
Parents and caregivers of young children
Early childhood educators

Terms To Know

Family-child interaction learning programs: Programs that combine early childhood education with parent education to support child development.
Executive Office on Early Learning: The state agency responsible for administering funding and overseeing family-child interaction learning programs.

Limits and Unknowns

It is not clear how many families will benefit from the program.
The bill does not specify what happens if there are not enough funds to support all existing programs.
There may be limits on which third-party providers can receive funding for these programs.

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment allocates funds to support family-child interaction learning programs in Hawaii.

Appropriates money from the state's general revenues to the Executive Office on Early Learning for fiscal year 2026-2027 to fund family-child interaction learning programs.

The exact amount of funds appropriated is not specified.
The amendment states an effective date of July 1, 3000, which seems incorrect and likely contains a typographical error.

Bill History

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. 177).
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. 957-26), 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. 502-26) 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.
2026-01-28 H
Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 3
2026-01-26 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-23 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO EARLY LEARNING.
Family-child Interaction Learning Programs; Executive Office on Early Learning; Appropriation ($)
Appropriates funds to the Executive Office on Early Learning to administer funding for family-child interaction learning programs. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2019

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2019

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to early learning
.

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

SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that family-child interaction
learning programs provide children from birth to age five with engaging,
literacy-rich early learning environments that foster social and emotional
development and support school readiness.
�
Family-child interaction learning programs
include two main components: high-quality early childhood learning and parent
education, which equips parents and caregivers with the knowledge and skills to
support their children's education and healthy family dynamics.

The legislature further
finds that family-child interaction learning programs promote positive
childhood experiences, which are strongly linked to better outcomes across the child's
lifetime.
�
Individuals who reported
having positive childhood experiences had better adult physical health, were
less likely to report adult depression or mental health issues, were less
likely to engage in substance use and delinquent behavior and had healthier
family dynamics.

����
The
legislature also finds that family-child interaction learning programs are
uniquely positioned to improve early detection of developmental delays, expand
access to infant and early childhood mental health services, and connect
families with a wide variety of social services.

����
Moreover,
the legislature finds that proposed cuts to federal funding that has
historically supported family-child interaction learning programs would reduce
the number of these programs from sixty-four to three.
�
This reduction would significantly affect local
children and families and result in the loss of nearly one hundred twenty early
childhood educator positions.

����
Therefore,
the purpose of this Act is to sustain the number of family-child interaction
learning programs in the State by appropriating funds to the executive office
on early learning to support family-child interaction learning programs.

����
SECTION
2.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $
or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the
executive office on early learning to administer funding for family-child
interaction learning programs.

����
The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the executive office on early learning for
the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION
3.
�
For purposes of this Act, the
executive office on early learning may contract with third-party providers of
family-child interaction learning programs and may collaborate with the
counties to administer funding for family-child interaction learning programs.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Family-child
Interaction Learning Programs; Executive Office on Early Learning;
Appropriation

Description:

Appropriates
funds to the Executive Office on Early Learning to administer funding for
family-child interaction learning programs.

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