Hawaii legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Hawaii SB717: Relating to Collective Bargaining.
Status: Failed, April 2, 2026
Repeals the prohibition placed on certain employees exempt from civil service law from grieving a suspension or discharge. Allows any employee who is a member of an appropriate bargaining unit to grieve a suspension or discharge.
What the bill says
A bill for an act relating to collective bargaining.
From the engrossed text:
A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. SECTION 1. Section 89-10.8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending its title and subsection (a) to read as grievances. (a) A public employer shall enter into written agreement with the exclusive representative setting forth a grievance procedure culminating in a final and binding decision, to be invoked in the event of any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of a written agreement. The grievance procedure shall be valid and enforceable and shall be consistent with the following: (1) A dispute over the terms of an initial or renewed agreement shall not constitute a grievance; (2) [No employee in a position exempted from chapter 76, who serves at the plea-sure of the appointing authori-ty,--shall be allowed to grieve a suspension or discharge unless the collective bargaining agreement 2025-1106 SB717 SD1 SMA.docx llllllllliHIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH Page 2 S.B. NO. S.D. specifically provides otherwise;] Any employee who is a member of an appropriate bargaining unit shall be allowed to grieve a suspension or discharge; and (3) With respect to any adverse action resulting from an employee's failure to meet performance requirements of the employee's position, the grievance procedure shall provide that the final and binding decision shall be made by a performance judge as provided in this section." SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed …
Sponsors
- Henry Aquino (D, 19) · primary sponsor
- Stanley Chang (D, 9)
- Kurt Fevella (R, 20)
- Carol Fukunaga (D, 11)
- Troy Hashimoto (D, 5)
- Michelle Kidani (D, 18)
- Sharon Moriwaki (D, 12)
- Karl Rhoads (D, 13)
- Joy San Buenaventura (D, 2)
- Mike Gabbard (D, 21)
- Angus McKelvey (D, 6)
- Tim Richards (D, SD-004)
Latest actions
- : Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457).
- : House Conferee(s) discharged.
- : Received notice of all Senate conferees being discharged (Sen. Com. No. 409).
- : Senate Conferee(s) discharged.
- : Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
- : Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-25 4:30 PM; Conference Room 016.
- : Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-25 2:30 PM; Conference Room 016.
- : Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-25 10:15AM; Conference Room 016.
- : Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-25 10:15AM; Conference Room 016.
- : Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-23-25 10:15AM; Conference Room 016.
Votes
- Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kapela excused (2) (April 4, 2025): 49 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Second Reading; placed on the calendar for Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kapela excused (2) (April 4, 2025): 49 yea, 0 nay, passed
- FIN: recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED (April 1, 2025): 14 yea, 0 nay, 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, Holt, Ward, Woodson excused (4) (March 13, 2025): 47 yea, 0 nay, passed
- LAB: recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS (March 11, 2025): 5 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Report adopted; Passed Third Reading (March 4, 2025): 25 yea, 0 nay, passed
Subjects: Report, Prohibition, Collective Bargaining
Common questions
- What is SB717?
- SB717 is a bill in the Hawaii Legislature (2026 Regular Session): Relating to Collective Bargaining.
- What does SB717 do?
- In its own words: A bill for an act relating to collective bargaining.
- What is the status of SB717?
- Failed as of April 2, 2026. Latest action: Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457). (April 2, 2026).
- Who sponsored SB717?
- Henry Aquino (D, 19), with 11 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for SB717?
- On the Hawaii Legislature website: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=717&year=2026
Source: official Hawaii record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.