HB347 • 2026

RELATING TO GOATS.

Active

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

Sponsor: LOWEN, KAHALOA, KUSCH, TARNAS, TODD
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on how this change might affect other wildlife or land management practices, nor does it explicitly state that hunters are essential partners in conservation efforts.

Rules About Hunting Goats

This bill stops the Department of Land and Natural Resources from setting limits on how many goats hunters can take in public hunting areas.

What This Bill Does

Prohibits the Department of Land and Natural Resources from establishing or implementing bag limits for goats in public hunting areas.

Who It Names or Affects

The Department of Land and Natural Resources
Hunters who want to catch goats

Terms To Know

Bag limit: A rule that says how many animals a hunter can take in one day or trip.
Public hunting areas: Places where anyone with the right permits can go to hunt animals.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not address what will happen if goat populations grow too large.
It is unclear how this change might affect other wildlife or land management practices.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-06 H
The committee(s) on WAL recommend(s) that the measure be deferred.
2025-02-04 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Thursday, 02-06-25 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 1
2025-01-17 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-16 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO GOATS.
Hunting; Goats; Bag Limits; Public Hunting Areas; Prohibition; Department of Land and Natural Resources
Prohibits the Department of Land and Natural Resources from establishing or implementing bag limits for goats in public hunting areas.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB347

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

347

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to goats
.

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

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that the population
of goats is growing in west Hawaii island, leading to increasing concerns among
residents as these animals pose a nuisance in neighborhoods and cause safety
concerns on roadways.
�
Hunters are
essential partners in conservation efforts, helping to mitigate the damage that
goats cause when they proliferate in environments to which they are not native and
in which they have no predators.
�
The
legislature therefore finds that bag limits on goats in public hunting areas
should be lifted or no longer established.

����
The
purpose of this Act is to prohibit the department of land and natural resources
from establishing or implementing bag limits on goats in public hunting areas.

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 183D-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

����
"(a)
�
For the purposes of preserving, protecting,
conserving, and propagating wildlife, the department shall establish, maintain,
manage, and operate game management areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and public
hunting areas on land under its control and, as it deems desirable, enter into
agreements for taking control of privately owned lands for those purposes[
.
]
;
provided that the department shall not establish or implement a bag limit for
goats in public hunting areas.
"

����
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:

Hunting;
Goats; Bag Limits; Public Hunting Areas; Prohibition; Department of Land and
Natural Resources

Description:

Prohibits
the Department of Land and Natural Resources from establishing or implementing
bag limits for goats in public hunting areas.

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