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HB2179 • 2026

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.

Education
Active

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

Sponsor
REYES ODA, COCHRAN, GARCIA, HASHEM, KAHALOA, KILA, MATSUMOTO, PIERICK, SHIMIZU, TAM
Last action
2026-02-19
Official status
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide information on when the program will be implemented or its funding source.

Electric Bicycles in School Safety Programs

This bill requires the Department of Education to include electric bicycles in its traffic safety education program.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Department of Education to develop and administer a Traffic Safety Education Program that includes information about electric bicycles.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Students in Hawaii's public schools
  • The Department of Education

Terms To Know

Traffic Safety Education Program
A program that teaches students about road safety rules and laws, including those related to electric bicycles.
Electric Bicycles
Bicycles powered by an electric motor, often used for transportation.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the program will be funded.
  • It is unclear if all schools will have access to traffic safety education specialists.

Amendments

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

HD1

1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment requires the Department of Education to develop and administer a traffic safety education program that includes electric bicycles.

  • Changes 'may establish and administer' to 'shall establish and administer' for the traffic safety education program, making it mandatory instead of optional.
  • Adds electric bicycles to the list of topics covered in the traffic safety education program.
  • The amendment specifies an effective date of July 1, 3000, which seems unrealistic and may indicate a placeholder or error.
HD2

3

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: This amendment requires the Department of Education to develop and administer a traffic safety education program that includes electric bicycles.

  • Changes 'may establish' to 'shall establish' for the department's duty to create a traffic safety education program.
  • Adds electric bicycles as part of the required content in the traffic safety education program.
  • The amendment specifies an effective date of July 1, 3000, which seems unrealistic and may indicate a placeholder or error.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-19 H

    Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

  2. 2026-02-19 H

    Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 549-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

  3. 2026-02-17 H

    The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Miyake, Evslin, Grandinetti, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Pierick; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran.

  4. 2026-02-12 H

    Bill scheduled to be heard by TRN on Tuesday, 02-17-26 9:30AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  5. 2026-02-10 H

    Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on TRN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

  6. 2026-02-09 H

    Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 71-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to TRN.

  7. 2026-02-05 H

    The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

  8. 2026-02-03 H

    Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Thursday, 02-05-26 2:00PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  9. 2026-01-30 H

    Referred to EDN, TRN, FIN, referral sheet 5

  10. 2026-01-28 H

    Introduced and Pass First Reading.

  11. 2026-01-26 H

    Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.
DOE; E-Bikes; Educational Safety Program
Requires, rather than authorizes, the Department of Education to develop and administer a Traffic Safety Education Program. Requires the Department of Education's Traffic Safety Education program to include electric bicycles. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB2179

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2179

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

rELATING
TO tRANSPORTATION
.

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

SECTION 1.
�
Electric bicycles have become widely
available for personal transportation and are popular among citizens of all
ages.
�
In March 2023, there were five
thousand three hundred registered electric bicycles.
�
This figure is potentially higher considering
that many owners do not register their bikes, especially if they are purchased
online.

Preliminary
data from Hawaii's Department of Transportation showed that from the start of 2025
till early September, there had been ninety-three traffic deaths statewide.
�
This is a stark difference compared to the sixty-six
traffic fatalities that occurred at the same time last year.
�
Approximately ninety-one per cent of the
deaths involved risky or negligent behavior such as speeding, failure to yield,
improper pedestrian actions, and failing to use safety equipment such as seat
belts and helmets.
�
Safety of Hawaii�s roadways
continues to be a persistent matter of public concern.
�
The legislature finds, in the wake of a
recent surge in ridership accidents, it is critical to address the unsafe
operation of electric bicycles.
�

The
purpose of this Act is to
:

����
(1)
�
Require the Department of Education develop
and administer a traffic safety education program; and

����
(2)
�
Amend the Department of Education's traffic
safety education program to include electric bicycles.

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 302A-417, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

����
"[
[
]
�302A-417
[
]
]
�
Traffic safety education.
�
(a)
�

The department [
may
]
shall
establish and administer a
traffic safety education program to be conducted at each public school for
students from grades kindergarten through twelve.
�
The program shall include, but not be
limited to, general electric bicycle riding safety, rules of the road, and laws
pertaining to electric bicycles.

����
(b)
�
The department may establish the requirements
for the position of traffic safety education specialist and may employ at least
one traffic safety education specialist for the purposes of this section.
�
The traffic safety education specialist may
be paid out of fees allocated to the director of commerce and consumer affairs
from the special drivers education fund account pursuant to section
431:10C-115."

����
SECTION
4.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

E-Bikes; DOE;
Educational Safety Program

Description:

Requires the Department of Education to develop and
administer a Traffic Safety Program.
�
Expands
the Department of Education's Traffic Safety Education program to include
electric bicycles.

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