SB2601 • 2026

RELATING TO PROCUREMENT.

Budget Crime

Active

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

Sponsor: DELA CRUZ, CHANG, HASHIMOTO, INOUYE, KIDANI, MORIWAKI
Last action: 2026-05-01
Official status: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 3:55 PM; Conference Room 329.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

RELATING TO PROCUREMENT.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO PROCUREMENT.
SPO; Procurement; Penalties; Certification of Available Funds; Threshold Amount; Chief Procurement Officer; Positions; Appropriation ($) Amends criminal penalties under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code by providing that a person who intentionally violates the code is subject to prosecution for a misdemeanor in cases of egregious violations of the Code.
Ensures that awarded contracts are supported by sufficient appropriations by requiring a contract amount that exceeds fifteen per cent of the amount of the appropriation or balance of an appropriation to be approved by the Chief Procurement Officer to become binding.
Establishes positions within the State Procurement Office.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: SB2601 HD1 THE SENATE S.B.

SB2601 HD1 THE SENATE S.B.
NO.
2601 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII H.D.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: SB2601 SD1 THE SENATE S.B.

SB2601 SD1 THE SENATE S.B.
NO.
2601 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROCUREMENT .

SD2

Hawaii published version SD2

Plain English: SB2601 SD2 THE SENATE S.B.

SB2601 SD2 THE SENATE S.B.
NO.
2601 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROCUREMENT .

Bill History

2026-05-01 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 3:55 PM; Conference Room 329.
2026-05-01 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 12:30 PM; Conference Room 016.
2026-04-30 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 10:20AM; Conference Room 016.
2026-04-29 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-30-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.
2026-04-28 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-29-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.
2026-04-27 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-28-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.
2026-04-23 S
Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-27-26 10:00AM; Conference Room 016.
2026-04-21 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 800).
2026-04-21 H
House Conferees Appointed: Tarnas, Kusch Co-Chairs; Poepoe, Shimizu.
2026-04-20 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 714).
2026-04-20 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: McKelvey Chair; Moriwaki, Rhoads Co-Chairs; Fevella.
2026-04-16 H
Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 710).
2026-04-16 S
Senate disagrees with House amendments.
2026-04-16 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 680).
2026-04-14 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (5) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-04-10 H
Deferred one day 04-14-26.
2026-04-10 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2078-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-04-07 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa.
2026-04-02 H
Bill scheduled for decision making on Tuesday, 04-07-26 10:10AM in conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-04-02 H
The committee(s) on FIN recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 04-07-26.
2026-03-31 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 04-02-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-03-30 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4).
2026-03-30 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1553-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2026-03-25 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama, Cochran.
2026-03-23 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 03-25-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-03-12 H
Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 17
2026-03-12 H
Pass First Reading
2026-03-10 H
Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 269) in amended form (SD 2).
2026-03-10 S
Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-03-06 S
48 Hrs. Notice 03-10-26.
2026-03-06 S
Reported from WAM/JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2955) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2).
2026-03-04 S
The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-03-04 S
The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-03-02 S
The committee(s) on WAM/JDC will hold a public decision making on 03-04-26 10:35AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-02-19 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM/JDC.
2026-02-19 S
Reported from GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2472) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM/JDC.
2026-02-05 S
The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in GVO were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) McKelvey, Gabbard, Moriwaki, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Hashimoto.
2026-02-03 S
The committee(s) on GVO deferred the measure until 02-05-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
2026-01-30 S
The committee(s) on GVO has scheduled a public hearing on 02-03-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
2026-01-28 S
Referred to GVO, WAM/JDC.
2026-01-23 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-01-23 S
Introduced.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO PROCUREMENT.
SPO; Procurement; Penalties; Certification of Available Funds; Threshold Amount; Chief Procurement Officer; Positions; Appropriation ($)
Amends criminal penalties under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code by providing that a person who intentionally violates the code is subject to prosecution for a misdemeanor in cases of egregious violations of the Code. Ensures that awarded contracts are supported by sufficient appropriations by requiring a contract amount that exceeds fifteen per cent of the amount of the appropriation or balance of an appropriation to be approved by the Chief Procurement Officer to become binding. Establishes positions within the State Procurement Office. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB2601

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2601

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO PROCUREMENT
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
The
legislature finds that all procurement activities should be conducted in a
manner that ensures transparency, fiscal responsibility, and accountability.

����
The legislature further finds that section
103D-309, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires a certification that there are
sufficient funds available to cover the cost of a contract before that contract
becomes binding.
�
However, this section
does not include a specific threshold of funds that must be available, nor does
it adequately address the disposition of contract awards that exceed
appropriated amounts.
�
The legislature
therefore finds that this law should be amended to address these issues by
establishing a threshold amount and requiring contracts that exceed that amount
to be approved by the chief procurement officer.

����
The legislature finds that the current
requirement that the state procurement office administrator provide written
attestation for recommendations and solicitations under section 103D-309,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is necessary to ensure proper oversight of state
resources.
�
Accordingly, the legislature
affirms this requirement.

����
The purpose of this Act is to promote
transparency, fiscal responsibility, and fair procurement practices by:

����
(1)
�
Ensuring that awarded contracts are supported
by sufficient appropriations by requiring that an awarded contract amount not
exceed ten per cent of the amount of the available appropriation or balance of
an appropriation;

����
(2)
�
Requiring a contract that exceeds the ten per
cent threshold to be approved by the chief procurement officer to become
binding; and

����
(3)
�
Repealing criminal penalties in the Hawaii
public procurement code, thereby requiring penalties to be imposed through administrative
processes.

����
SECTION
2.
�
Section 103D-106, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

����
"(a)
�
Any person who intentionally violates this
chapter or any rules adopted pursuant to this chapter [
shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and
] shall be:

����
(1)
�
Subject to removal from office;

����
(2)
�
Liable to the State or the appropriate
county for any sum paid by it in connection with the violation, and that sum,
together with interest and costs, shall be recoverable by the State or county;
and

����
(3)
�
Subject to imposition of an
administrative fine under subsection (b)."

����
SECTION

3
.
�
Section
103D-309, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to
read as follows:

����
"(a)
�
Contracts awarded pursuant to section
103D-302, 103D-303, or 103D-306, shall neither be binding nor have any force
and effect of law unless the comptroller, the director of finance of a county,
or the respective chief financial officers of the department of education, the
judiciary, or the legislative branches of the State or county, as the case may
be, endorses thereon a certificate that there is an appropriation or balance of
an appropriation over and above all outstanding contracts, sufficient to cover
the amount required by the contract; provided that [
if
]:

����
(1)
�
The awarded contract amount does not
exceed ten per cent of the amount of the available appropriation or balance of
an appropriation; provided further that a contract that exceeds this ten per
cent threshold shall require approval from the chief procurement officer to become
binding for the purposes of this section; and

����
(2)
�
If
the contract is a multi-term
contract, the comptroller, director of finance, or chief financial officer
shall only be required to certify that there is an appropriation or balance of
an appropriation over and above all outstanding contracts[
,
] that is
sufficient to cover the amount required to be paid under the contract during
the fiscal year or remaining portion of the fiscal year of each term of the
multi-year contract; [
provided further that the
]
and

����
(3)
�
The
administrator of the state
procurement office shall attest in writing to any recommendation or
solicitations.

This
section shall not apply to any contract under which the total amount to be paid
to the contractor cannot be accurately estimated at the time the contract is to
be awarded, or to any contract for which consideration is in kind or
forbearance, or to any contract awarded pursuant to section 103D-306 that is a
one-time payment through a purchase order."

����
SECTION 4.
�

This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that
were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

����
SECTION 5.
�

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

����
SECTION 6.
�

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Procurement;
Certification of Available Funds; Threshold Amount; Chief Procurement Officer;
Penalties

Description:

Ensures that awarded contracts are supported by sufficient
appropriations by requiring that the contract amount does not exceed 10% of the
amount of the appropriation or balance of an appropriation that is available to
cover the cost of the contract.
�
Requires
a contract that exceeds the 10% threshold to be approved by the chief
procurement officer.
�
Repeals criminal
penalties in the Hawaii Public Procurement Code.

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