Hawaii bills · 2026 Regular Session
Hawaii SB 3294
RELATING TO WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT.
- Introduced
- In committee
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became law
Sponsors
- RHOADS (Democratic)
- CHANG (Democratic)
- FUKUNAGA (Democratic)
- KIDANI
- SAN BUENAVENTURA (Democratic)
Summary
Official abstract published by the Hawaii legislature· description
Establishes the procedure that a circuit court shall follow upon the reversal or vacation of a person's judgment of conviction on grounds consistent with innocence, and where the charges were dismissed. Requires the State to pay, through a warrant for payment issued by the Comptroller, advance compensation to any petitioner who was convicted in a court of the State, imprisoned for at least one year, and whose judgment of conviction was reversed or vacated, or was pardoned, on grounds consistent with innocence. Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to immediately notify the Department of Human Services so the Department of Human Services may assign a case manager to a petitioner upon the petitioner's release. Requires the State to provide medical coverage to a person for a certain duration upon the reversal or vacation of the person's judgment of conviction on grounds consistent with innocence and where the charges were dismissed. Provides that the Judiciary and Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall retain jurisdiction over the person for the purposes of effectuating this process. Authorizes the State to seek reimbursement from the applicable county for any losses incurred by the State pursuant to this process. Requires the Department of the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Legislature. Clarifies eligibility to seek compensation for persons whose judgment of conviction was reversed or vacated, or who were pardoned, on grounds consistent with innocence, and where the charges were dismissed. Shifts the burden of proof to the State to prove by a preponderance of evidence that the reversal or vacation of the judgment of conviction for a petitioner, or the pardoning of the petitioner, was inconsistent with innocence. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)
Text versions
Roll-call votes
State vote data last updated Oct 15, 2026, 8:04 PM.
| Date | Vote | Result | Your legislators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. | pass | Set your home in Hawaii to see |
| Mar 25, 2026 House | The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. | pass | Set your home in Hawaii to see |
| Mar 18, 2026 House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. | pass | Set your home in Hawaii to see |
| Mar 10, 2026 Senate | Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). | pass | Set your home in Hawaii to see |
| Mar 4, 2026 Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. | pass | Set your home in Hawaii to see |
| Mar 4, 2026 Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. | pass | Set your home in Hawaii to see |
| Feb 19, 2026 Senate | The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. | pass | Set your home in Hawaii to see |
Actions
- Jan 30, 2026 · Senate
Introduced. - Jan 30, 2026 · Senate
Passed First Reading. - Feb 2, 2026 · Senate
Referred to GVO/PSM, JDC/WAM. - Feb 10, 2026 · Senate
Re-Referred to GVO, JDC/WAM. - Feb 13, 2026 · Senate
The committee(s) on GVO has scheduled a public hearing on 02-17-26 3:45PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. - Feb 17, 2026 · Senate
The committee(s) on GVO deferred the measure until 02-19-26 3:00PM; CR 225 & Videoconference. - Feb 19, 2026 · Senate
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, Hashimoto, Moriwaki; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa. - Feb 20, 2026 · Senate
Reported from GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2686) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC/WAM. - Feb 20, 2026 · Senate
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC/WAM. - Mar 2, 2026 · Senate
The committee(s) on JDC/WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-04-26 10:35AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. - Mar 4, 2026 · Senate
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. - Mar 4, 2026 · Senate
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. - Mar 6, 2026 · Senate
Reported from JDC/WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3069) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). - Mar 6, 2026 · Senate
48 Hrs. Notice 03-10-26. - Mar 10, 2026 · Senate
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. - Mar 10, 2026 · House
Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 399) in amended form (SD 2). - Mar 12, 2026 · House
Pass First Reading - Mar 12, 2026 · House
Referred to JHA, PBS, FIN, referral sheet 17 - Mar 16, 2026 · House
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 03-18-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. - Mar 18, 2026 · House
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, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama, Cochran. - Mar 20, 2026 · House
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1267-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to PBS. - Mar 20, 2026 · House
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on PBS with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). - Mar 20, 2026 · House
Bill scheduled to be heard by PBS on Wednesday, 03-25-26 10:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. - Mar 25, 2026 · House
The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Belatti, Iwamoto, Hashem, Ichiyama, Morikawa, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. - Mar 30, 2026 · House
Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1480-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN. - Mar 30, 2026 · House
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 Representative(s) Cochran, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4). - Apr 2, 2026 · House
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Tuesday, 04-07-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. - Apr 7, 2026 · House
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. - Apr 10, 2026 · House
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2161-26), recommending passage on Third Reading. - Apr 14, 2026 · House
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. - Apr 16, 2026 · Senate
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 774). - Apr 16, 2026 · Senate
Senate disagrees with House amendments. - Apr 16, 2026 · House
Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 710). - Apr 20, 2026 · House
House Conferees Appointed: Tarnas, Belatti, Kusch Co-Chairs; Iwamoto, Poepoe, Garcia. - Apr 20, 2026 · Senate
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 787).