PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLE IV, SECTIONS 4 AND 6, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION REGARDING REAPPORTIONMENT.
Summary
HB140 proposes a constitutional amendment to change how Hawaii draws state legislative districts. Under current law, reapportionment is based on the number of “permanent residents,” which excludes some people counted in the federal census. The bill would instead require the reapportionment commission to use resident population as reported in the most recent decennial U.S. census for the relevant reapportionment year when allocating seats among the basic island units and when drawing district lines within those units.
The measure also updates the ballot question language for voters and retains the existing redistricting criteria, such as contiguity, compactness, and avoiding undue partisan advantage. If approved by the Legislature and voters, the amendment would alter Article IV, sections 4 and 6 of the Hawaii Constitution and would take effect only after compliance with the constitutional process for amendments.
Impact
The bill would change Hawaii’s constitutional reapportionment standard from a permanent-resident count to the federal decennial census resident count, aligning state legislative apportionment more closely with the census-based approach used in most states. This would affect how the Reapportionment Commission allocates House and Senate seats among the basic island units and how it calculates district populations, likely increasing the counted population in districts with military personnel, dependents, college students, and other non-permanent residents. It would amend Article IV, sections 4 and 6 of the Hawaii Constitution if adopted by the Legislature and ratified by voters.
Sentiment
The bill text reflects a strongly supportive posture toward the change, arguing that Hawaii’s current method is an outlier and produces unequal representation by excluding many residents who live in the state but are not permanent residents. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no additional evidence of opposition or support from hearings or floor action. Based on the bill’s findings, the intended policy direction is to broaden representation and conform more closely to census-based apportionment norms.
Contention
The central point of contention is whether Hawaii should continue using permanent residents or switch to total resident population from the U.S. census. Supporters of the bill argue that excluding non-permanent residents unfairly omits military families, students, and other residents who receive state and county services and are physically present in districts. The bill also suggests the current method can create uneven representation and even negative net population in some census tracts. Any opposition would likely focus on preserving Hawaii’s existing constitutional approach to reapportionment and the policy choice to distinguish permanent residents from other residents.
Proposing Amendments To Article X, Section 2 And Article Xviii, Section 12, Of The Constitution Of The State Of Hawaii To Establish Local Elected School Boards.
Proposing Amendments To Article X, Section 2 And Article Xviii, Section 12, Of The Constitution Of The State Of Hawaii To Establish A School Board Comprised Of Appointed And Elected Members.
creating criteria for redistricting of congressional districts, state senate districts, state house of representatives districts, and executive councilor districts.