Hawaii House Bill HB2272

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/28/26
• Refer: 1/30/26
• Report Pass: 2/17/26
• Refer: 2/17/26
• Report Pass: 3/5/26
• Engrossed: 3/5/26
• Refer: 3/10/26
• Report Pass: 3/23/26
• Refer: 3/23/26
• Report Pass: 4/9/26
• Report Pass: 5/1/26
• Enrolled: 5/6/26

Caption

MAKING EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT COST ITEMS.

Summary

HB2272 is an emergency appropriations bill that funds public employment cost items for Hawaii state employees in bargaining unit (11) for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium. It provides money for negotiated collective bargaining costs, including salary increases and related cost adjustments, as well as health premium payments. The bill also covers employees excluded from collective bargaining who are in the same compensation plans as bargaining unit (11) members, ensuring their pay and benefit adjustments track the negotiated unit changes. The appropriations are split across general funds and special funds, and are directed to statewide collective bargaining and health premium payment accounts. The bill authorizes the director of finance to allot the funds to the appropriate state departments, and it specifies that costs for employees paid from federal, special, or other funds must be paid from those respective sources. It also delays lapse of the FY 2025-2026 appropriations until the end of the biennium, with any unspent or unencumbered funds lapsing on June 30, 2027. The measure takes effect upon approval and was enacted as Act 026.

Impact

This bill amends state spending authority by appropriating funds for negotiated labor costs under chapter 89C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and by extending that funding to both represented employees in bargaining unit (11) and similarly situated excluded employees. It affects state budget administration rather than creating new regulatory duties, and it directs how the Department of Finance and state departments may expend the funds for wages, cost adjustments, and health premiums. The bill primarily impacts state agencies employing unit (11) workers, as well as the state payroll and benefits systems that must implement the negotiated compensation changes.

Sentiment

The overall sentiment appears supportive and noncontroversial. The bill moved through the Senate Labor and Technology Committee unanimously, then passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee with amendments by a 12-0 vote, and later passed both conference committees without opposition. Its emergency appropriation status and final enactment indicate broad agreement that the negotiated public employment costs needed to be funded promptly.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive contention in the available record. The only notable procedural differences were amendments adopted in Ways and Means and in conference, suggesting discussion over the exact funding language or amounts rather than disagreement over the bill’s purpose. The main policy issue is fiscal: ensuring the state funds collective bargaining obligations, health premium costs, and comparable adjustments for excluded employees, all of which require budget resources from general and special funds.