This Week in Hawai'i

from Hawaii Family Forum, March 6 2026

GOOD NEWS FIRST:  Following the latest legislative deadlines, the field of bills being tracked by Hawaii Family Forum has narrowed significantly. Any measures that were still pending a hearing in their final committee failed to meet the committee calendar deadline and are now considered dead for the session. This includes all proposals to expand gambling in Hawaiʻi as well as the bills that would have legalized recreational marijuana. The failure of these measures to advance represents a significant development this session, as proposals to introduce sports wagering, expand gambling opportunities, and legalize adult-use marijuana will not be moving forward this year.

ACTION: At this point, four bills remain alive and have successfully cleared their committee hearings. These measures are now pending third reading, meaning they are awaiting a final vote by the full chamber. Legislative leadership is expected to provide the required 48-hour notice before these floor votes, likely sometime in the coming days. Once the bills are scheduled for third reading, Hawaii Family Forum subscribers will be able to contact their own legislators directly through our VoterVoice system to share their views before the final vote takes place. These upcoming floor votes will determine whether the remaining bills cross over to the opposite chamber for further consideration later in the legislative session.

GOOD BILL [Prediction Market] Definition:  PASSED JDC

HB2198 HD1 The good bill to define "prediction markets" was passed on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 by the House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee.  The committee on JHA recommended that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. 

The votes were as follows: 

9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; 

1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran.

Hawaii Family Forum submitted testimony in SUPPORT and we appreciate the legislature moving this bill forward.

STATUS:  The bill will now move to the full House chamber vote for 3rd Reading.

LEGISLATIVE DEADLINES:

MAR 12 FIRST CROSSOVER (BILLS) – Deadline for bills to pass third reading in order to move (or “crossover”) to the other chamber. If successful, House bills are sent to the Senate and Senate bills are sent to the House for further consideration.

MAR 13 LAST DAY TO INTRODUCE SUBSTANTIVE RESOLUTIONS – Resolutions are legislative measures which may request action of a government entity or state the legislature’s position on an issue. They don’t have the force and effect of law, require only one reading in chamber, and are not enrolled to the Governor. 

MAR 16 BUDGET DECKING (BILLS) – Deadline for submitting the spending plan developed by the Governor which estimates expenditures for the fiscal year or biennium and the proposed means of financing these expenditures. 

MAR 18 BUDGET CROSSOVER (BILLS) – Last day for third reading of budget bills in order to move to the other chamber. 

MAR 19 SECOND TRIPLE REFERRAL FILING (BILLS) – All bills referred to three or more committees must be in their second-to-last committee in the non-originating chamber by this date. (Note: A referral to a joint committee counts as one committee referral.) This deadline allows ample time for successful bills to make their way to their last committee by the Second Lateral deadline. 

MAR 27 SECOND LATERAL FILING (BILLS) – Filing Deadline for Second Lateral Bills 

MAR 30 SECOND LATERAL (BILLS) – All bills with multiple referrals must move to their final referral committee in the non-originating chamber by this date. 

MAR 31 (SENATE) APR 2 (HOUSE) FIRST LATERAL FOR CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS – Concurrent resolutions require adoption in each chamber and are used to state the official position of the Legislature on an issue, or to request action formally without having to mandate it by law. All concurrent resolutions with multiple referrals must move to their final committee in the originating chamber by this date.

Supreme Court Signals Strong Support for Parental Rights in School Gender Case

On March 2, 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court stepped into a major case involving parental rights and public school gender policies. In Mirabelli v. Bonta, the Court allowed parents’ legal challenge to move forward by lifting a lower court order that had blocked an injunction against California school policies that prevent schools from informing parents if their child is socially transitioning genders without the child’s consent. The Court indicated that the parents are likely to succeed in arguing that these policies violate both their religious freedom and their constitutional right to direct the upbringing of their children. While the case is not fully decided yet, this ruling signals that a majority of the Court takes parental rights and free exercise concerns very seriously in the context of public education.

Counseling Ban Appellate Victory Set To Review Attorney’s Fees

March 3, 2026 - ATLANTA, GA – Last week, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals transferred to U.S. District Court a motion from Liberty Counsel seeking additional attorney’s fees and costs in Otto, et al v. City of Boca Raton, FL et al, which was a victory over unlawful city and county counseling bans.

In October 2025, after the counseling ban had been struck down in 2020, the Eleventh Circuit awarded Liberty Counsel an increase in the original amount of attorney’s fees awarded by the lower district court, which had been deemed insufficient for the years of litigation. Since Liberty Counsel had to appeal the lower court’s attorney’s fees award, it is now seeking the appropriate additional fees and costs to cover that appeal. 

[Read full story on Liberty Counsel Website.]

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Mahalo for walking this journey with us.