HB2123 • 2026

RELATING TO MISCONDUCT BY A PUBLIC SERVANT.

Active

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

Sponsor: BELATTI, AMATO, COCHRAN, GARCIA, GEDEON, GRANDINETTI, HASHEM, MARTEN, MATSUMOTO, MURAOKA, OLDS, PERRUSO, PIERICK, REYES ODA, SOUZA
Last action: 2026-01-28
Official status: Referred to JHA, referral sheet 4
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide additional details about how other types of crimes are handled under statute of limitations rules, nor does it specify what happens if misconduct is discovered more than ten years after leaving office.

Extending Time Limits for Prosecuting Public Servant Misconduct

This bill extends the time period during which public servants can be prosecuted for misconduct in office to include their entire term and up to ten years after leaving office.

What This Bill Does

Changes the law so that public servants can face charges for misconduct at any point while they are working or within ten years of leaving their job.

Who It Names or Affects

Public servants who commit misconduct while working or shortly after leaving their job

Terms To Know

statute of limitations: The time period during which a legal case can be filed.
public servant: A person who works for the government and serves the public, like a mayor or police officer.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not specify what happens if misconduct is discovered more than ten years after leaving office.
The bill does not change how other types of crimes are handled under statute of limitations rules.

Bill History

2026-01-28 H
Referred to JHA, referral sheet 4
2026-01-26 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-23 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO MISCONDUCT BY A PUBLIC SERVANT.
Penal Code; Statute of Limitations; Misconduct in Office; Public Servants
Extends the statute of limitations for offenses based on misconduct in office by a public servant to allow prosecution at any time during the defendant's period of public service and up to ten years thereafter.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2123

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2123

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO MISCONDUCT BY A PUBLIC SERVANT
.

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

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section 701-108, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (3) to read as follows:

����
"(3)
�
If the period prescribed in subsection (2)
has expired, a prosecution may nevertheless be commenced for:

����
(a)
�
Any offense an
element of which is fraud, deception as defined in section 708-800, or a breach
of fiduciary obligation or the offense of medical assistance fraud under
section 346-43.5, within three years after discovery of the offense by an
aggrieved party or by a person who has a legal duty to represent an aggrieved
party and who is oneself not a party to the offense, but in no case shall this
provision extend the period of limitation by more than six years from the
expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection (2);

����
(b)
�
Any offense based
on misconduct in office by a public servant at any time when the defendant is
in public office or employment or within [
two
]
ten
years
thereafter[
, but in no case shall this provision extend the period of
limitation by more than three years from the expiration of the period of
limitation prescribed in subsection (2)
]; and

����
(c)
�
Any felony offense
involving evidence containing deoxyribonucleic acid from the offender, if a
test confirming the presence of deoxyribonucleic acid is performed [
prior to
]

before
expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in subsection
(2), but in no case shall this provision extend the period of limitation by
more than ten years from the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed
in subsection (2)."

����
SECTION
2.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Penal
Code; Statute of Limitations; Misconduct in Office; Public Servants

Description:

Extends
the statute of limitations for offenses based on misconduct in office by a
public servant to allow prosecution at any time during the defendant's period
of public service and up to ten years thereafter.

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