The 2026 legislative session is effectively over after Gov. Josh Green made his final bill signings and vetoes Wednesday.
Nearly 6,000 bills this year were winnowed down to 267 new laws throughout the 2026 legislative session, fewer than the 313 signed into law in 2025.
While Green had previously announced his intention to veto four bills this session, on Wednesday vetoed only one outright, although he made a line-item veto to a second bill that effectively killed it despite signing it into law.
Among the final bills Green signed this year are:
New rules for cleaner fuels
Act 258, formerly Senate Bill 2999, requires the state Department of Transportation to develop by 2028 new rules that set standards for alternative fuels, as part of the state’s mandated transition to carbon neutrality by 2045.
HDOT must also set benchmarks for the reduction of carbon emissions in the transportation sector: emissions must be 10% down from 2019 levels by 2035 and 50% down from 2019 levels by 2045. Those standards must be implemented by 2029, and allow producers of fuels at or below those benchmarks to receive credits; fuels above those benchmarks would receive deficits, and providers of high-carbon fuels would need to purchase credits to meet their obligations to the standard.
However, the new rules also require mechanisms to prevent those deficits from “unreasonable fuel price increases,” such as a credit clearance market whereby vendors can purchase additional credits at a fixed price, mirroring similar programs such as one in California.
E-bikes leave the wild west
Consistent state rules are coming for e-bikes, electric skateboards and other personal transportation gizmos under House Bill 2021, now Act 259.
The measure defines a motorized personal transportation device under 75 pounds as an “electric micro-mobility device,” and an “electric bicycle” as a pedalable bike with a motor of no more than 750 watts. Devices with motors higher than 750 watts and capable of speeds higher than 28 mph are now “high-speed electric devices,” a separate class of devices from mopeds or electric vehicles.
E-bikes also are now subdivided into three classes passed on their motor capabilities: those with motors that assist the rider only while pedaling and never above 20 mph are Class 1 bikes, those with motors that can be exclusively used to power the bike up to 20 mph are Class 2 bikes, and those capable of assisting up to 28 mph are Class 3 bikes.
With those new definitions in place, the bill includes “electric micro-mobility devices” under the same rules as “electric foot scooters,” prohibiting people younger than 15 from using them on public streets, requiring them to have lamps if used after dark, and more. Class 2 and 3 e-bikes are now prohibited for riders under 16 years old, unless under direct parental supervision, and no e-bike can be ridden on sidewalks faster than 10 mph.
The measure also prohibits wheelies — electric bicycles are required to keep all wheels on the ground — and high-speed devices are not permitted to be operated on a public roadway, sidewalk, bicycle lane, or other public area.
$3 million for statewide dementia support
House Bill 1852, now Act 245, establishes within the state Executive Office of Aging the Hānai Memory Network Program, a project intended to expand the state’s ability to detect and care for patients of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Rep. Cory Chun said Tuesday that there are more than 31,000 Hawai‘i residents with Alzheimer’s, a number expected to double by 2050 as the population ages. The bill itself notes that people spent more than $309 million in Medicaid funds to care for Alzheimer’s patients last year, a sum that is expected to exceed $1 billion in 24 years.
The Hānai Network will establish memory clinics, hire dementia care specialists and develop a network to refer patients throughout the state to necessary care options and other services.
Lower price caps on school lunches
Before Monday, state laws required that the Department of Education must recoup from students 50% of the cost of preparing a school meal. But after Green signed HB 2296 into law as Act 236, the cost of a school meal can be no more than one-quarter of the cost of preparing it.
More pay for teachers
Annual pay hikes are coming for public school and public charter school teachers under HB 1890, now Act 233.
While step increases for teachers have been part of the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association’s contract with the state for years, those increases have never been funded. The measure, therefore, allows those already-negotiated salary hikes — which will be about 3% annually for most teachers — to finally go through.
The measure also allows for longevity-based step increases for teachers who have served for more than three years.
And “one” veto
The sole bill which Green fully vetoed this year was SB 3262, a measure that would change the process by which members of the Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board — which sets credentialing standards for Hawai‘i teachers — are chosen. Green explained his rationale for vetoing the bill was because it muddies the separation of duties between the Standards Board and the Board of Education, and further evaluation is needed to assess how the proposal would impact the operation of both boards.
Green issued a line-item veto to SB 2600, a measure allocating $50 million into the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Green had previously said that such a use of funds would be imprudent given the state’s current disaster recovery priorities, and noted that the current balance of the fund, more than $1.5 billion, is the highest it’s ever been.
Consequently, although Green signed the bill, his line-item veto slashes the appropriation to a mere single dollar.
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