STATE BILLHI HB 1531ENGROSSED

Relating To Emergency Announcements.

Requires the Governor or mayor of a county, during a state of emergency, to provide an American Sign Language interpreter at each live broadcast press conference. Requires the Governor or mayor of a county to provide a primary pool feed for any live official announcement that includes an American Sign Language interpreter in a picture-in-picture window, and does not require broadcasters that rebroadcast the official announcement to independently generate or insert this accessibility feature. Requires, to the fullest extent possible, that the American Sign Language interpreter's face, body, arms, and hands are visible. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Status: Engrossed; Passed its first chamber
Status date: Mar 10, 2026; 247 days ago
Current chamber: Senate
Session: 2026 Regular Session

HI HB 1531 · EngrossedMar 10

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Bill details

Last action: Referred to PSM, WAM. · Mar 12, 2026
Pending committee: Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs

Sponsor

SKSam KongRepresentative · Democrat · HD-033Primary sponsor

Bill history

Newest first.

Mar 12, 2026Referred to PSM, WAM.Senate

Mar 12, 2026Passed First Reading.Senate

Mar 12, 2026Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 240).Senate

Mar 10, 2026Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Garcia, Gedeon, Hartsfield, Kahaloa, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kila, Olds, Shimizu, Souza voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.House

Mar 6, 2026Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26.House

Mar 6, 2026Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1146-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.House

Mar 5, 2026The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Cochran, Hashem, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Kahaloa, Garcia, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Sayama.House

Mar 3, 2026Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 03-05-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.House

Show 11 earlier actions

Feb 11, 2026Passed 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) Holt excused (1).House

Feb 11, 2026Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 191-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.House

Feb 6, 2026The 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.House

Feb 5, 2026Bill scheduled for decision making on Friday, 02-06-26 11:30AM in conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.House

Feb 4, 2026The committee(s) on PBS recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 02-06-26 11:30AM.House

Feb 2, 2026Bill scheduled for decision making on Wednesday, 02-04-26 11:30AM in conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.House

Jan 30, 2026The committee(s) on PBS recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 02-04-26.House

Jan 27, 2026Bill scheduled to be heard by PBS on Friday, 01-30-26 11:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.House

Jan 26, 2026Referred to PBS, JHA, referral sheet 1House

Jan 21, 2026Introduced and Pass First Reading.House

Jan 14, 2026Prefiled.House

Subjects

Emergency
Official Announcements
Broadcast Media
American Sign Language
Sign Language Interpreter

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