Hawaii legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Hawaii SB2798: Relating to Law Enforcement.
Status: Passed one chamber, April 21, 2026
Makes permanent the Agricultural Enforcement Pilot Program established pursuant to Act 235, SLH 2025. Renames the program as the Agricultural Enforcement Program and expands the program statewide.
What the bill says
A bill for an act relating to law enforcement.
From the engrossed text:
A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. SECTION 1. Section 3530-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending its title and subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows: "[+] §353C-16[+] Agricultural enforcement [pilot] program. (a) There shall be established within the department an agricultural enforcement [pilot] program [onthe islands of Oahu and Hawaii,] in the State to be implemented at the discretion of the deputy director of law enforcement. The department shall employ or appoint, and remove, the following persons, subject to chapter 76 and section 78-1: (1) An assistant chief, who shall be the administrator of the agricultural enforcement [pilot] program and shall have charge, direction, and control, subject to the direction or control of the deputy director, of all matters relating to the enforcement of an offense listed in section 708-835.55 involving theft of an agricultural product or commodity and any other 2026-1033 SB2798 SD1 SMA.docx Page 2 2798 S.B. NO. S.D. matters as determined by the deputy director. The assistant chief shall be an administrator experienced in addressing agricultural theft; and (2) Personnel, state law enforcement officers, and investigators, including but not limited to state law enforcement officers serving on a voluntary basis without pay. (b) In addition to all police powers and duties, state law enforcement officers in the agricultural enforcement [pilot] program …
Sponsors
- Lynn DeCoite (D, 7) · primary sponsor
- Stanley Chang (D, 9)
- Troy Hashimoto (D, 5)
- Lamosao, Rachele (D, 19)
- Angus McKelvey (D, 6)
- Tim Richards (D, SD-004)
- Joy San Buenaventura (D, 2)
Latest actions
- : Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 718).
- : Senate Conferees Appointed: Fukunaga Chair; Richards Co-Chair; Hashimoto.
- : Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 710).
- : Senate disagrees with House amendments.
- : Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 700).
- : Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.
- : Deferred one day 04-14-26.
- : Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2040-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
- : 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.
- : Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Tuesday, 04-07-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
Votes
- Third Reading with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0) (April 14, 2026): 51 yea, 0 nay, passed
- FIN: recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED (April 7, 2026): 16 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4) (March 30, 2026): 47 yea, 0 nay, passed
- JHA: recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED (March 24, 2026): 9 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1) (March 20, 2026): 50 yea, 0 nay, passed
- AGR: recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS (March 18, 2026): 7 yea, 0 nay, passed
Subjects: Law Enforcement, Report, Counties
Common questions
- What is SB2798?
- SB2798 is a bill in the Hawaii Legislature (2026 Regular Session): Relating to Law Enforcement.
- What does SB2798 do?
- In its own words: A bill for an act relating to law enforcement.
- What is the status of SB2798?
- Passed one chamber as of April 21, 2026. Latest action: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 718). (April 21, 2026).
- Who sponsored SB2798?
- Lynn DeCoite (D, 7), with 6 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for SB2798?
- On the Hawaii Legislature website: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2798&year=2026
Source: official Hawaii record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.