HB304 • 2026

RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE.

Active

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

Sponsor: POEPOE, GRANDINETTI, IWAMOTO, KAHALOA, LEE, M., PERRUSO, TAM, TARNAS
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not explicitly make Hawaiian an official language, it only affects how laws are interpreted.

Making Hawaiian Language Officially Binding

This bill requires that the Hawaiian version of a law be considered legally binding if it was originally written in Hawaiian and then translated into English without any later changes to the English version.

What This Bill Does

Requires that the Hawaiian version of a law be held binding if the law was originally drafted in Hawaiian, then translated into English, and has not been amended since translation.

Who It Names or Affects

The government of Hawaii

Terms To Know

Official Language: A language that is recognized by law as having special status in a country or state.
Binding: Having legal force and must be followed.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how to handle laws with differences between the Hawaiian and English versions if they were originally written in Hawaiian.
It is unclear when this law will actually take effect, as it has an effective date far into the future (July 1, 3000).

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment requires that the Hawaiian version of a law be considered legally binding if it was originally written in Hawaiian and then translated into English, without any later amendments in English.

Adds a condition to Section 1-13 of Hawaii Revised Statutes, making the Hawaiian version of a law binding if it was initially drafted in Hawaiian and not subsequently amended in English.

The amendment specifies an effective date far into the future (July 1, 3000), which may indicate that this is a placeholder or symbolic measure rather than an immediate legislative action.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-13 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 Representative(s) Cochran, Kitagawa, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-13 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 625) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2025-01-31 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Perruso, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, Todd.
2025-01-27 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Friday, 01-31-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 1
2025-01-17 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-16 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE.
Hawaiian Language; State Law
Requires that the Hawaiian version of a law be held binding if the law in question was originally drafted in Hawaiian and then translated into English and the law has not been later amended, codified, recodified, or reenacted in English. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB304

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

304

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to the hawaiian language
.

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

����
SECTION
1
.
�
The
legislature finds that at the
Constitutional Convention of Hawaii of 1978, the committee on Hawaiian affairs
proposed the constitutional amendment that is now enshrined in article XV,
section 4, of the Hawaii State Constitution, which establishes Hawaiian as an
official language of the State.
�
The committee
felt it necessary to include this amendment in the constitution "to give
full recognition and honor to the rich cultural inheritance that Hawaiians have
given to all ethnic groups of the State."

����
The
legislature further finds that passage of this Act would contribute to the
growing international movement for the protection of the rights of the world's
indigenous peoples.
�
In 2007, the United
Nations adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples.
�
In 2011, the United States
became a signatory on the Declaration.
�
Article
13 of the Declaration states:

����
"1.
�
Indigenous
peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future
generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing
systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for
communities, places and persons.

�����
2.
�
States
shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected and also
to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand and be understood in
political, legal and administrative proceedings, where necessary through the
provision of interpretation or by other appropriate means."

����
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
require
that the Hawaiian version of a law be held binding if the law in
question was originally drafted in Hawaiian and then translated into English.

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 1-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

����
"
�
1-13
�

Official languages.
�

English and Hawaiian are the official languages of Hawaii.
�
Whenever there is found to exist any radical
and irreconcilable difference between the English and Hawaiian version of any
of the laws of the State, the English version shall be held binding[
.
]
;
provided that if the law in question was originally drafted in Hawaiian and the
English version was translated based on the Hawaiian version, the Hawaiian
version shall be held binding.
�

Hawaiian shall not be required for public acts and transactions.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�

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

����
SECTION 4.
�

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Hawaiian
Language; State Law; Public Documents

Description:

Requires
that the Hawaiian version of a law be held binding if the
law in question was originally drafted in Hawaiian and then translated into
English
.

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