Data Policy in the Hawaiʻi Legislature: 2026 Session Recap
Data policy – the rules and guidelines that govern how data is collected, stored, used, shared, and protected – touches all aspects of government and governance. These foundational considerations have broad implications for decision-making, as well as how services are distributed and delivered. Defined standards, adequate resourcing, and clear pathways for data sharing can protect citizen privacy and increase government efficiency. Without it, the result is the opposite: weak or absent data policy leading to poorly run systems and missed opportunities that can erode public trust.
2026 Legislative Session Snapshot
The 2026 Hawaiʻi Legislative Session saw the introduction of a total of 2,459 bills across the House and Senate. Of those bills, 268 (11%) passed and 123 (5%) have thus far been signed into law. We identified and tracked 64 bills specifically related to data(1). From demographic data collection to mapping arts education data, the 2026 session illustrated the relevance of data policy across various aspects of our community and government. The presence of this many data bills indicates that policymakers and agencies are thinking about data and recognizing the need for data policy. None of the key data bills we tracked, however, passed. This reflects how data policy can take time to build support in a complex legislative and budgeting environment with multiple competing priorities.
Notable Data Bills (None Passed)
HB 2499: Relating to Demographic Data
Would have required the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to coordinate statewide standards for collecting, managing, and reporting race and ethnicity demographic data across state and county agencies, established transparency and accountability requirements for associated artificial intelligence systems, mandated agency reporting on federal data collection compliance, and appropriated funds. This bill was of particular interest to us because without statewide standards for race and ethnicity data collection, we do not have comparable data to understand how different demographics are accessing and utilizing different services across the state. Standardizing this data would have positive downstream effects for research and service providers who rely on this data.
HB 2114 / SB 2669: Relating to Human Services
Would have established the Hawaiʻi Benefits Hub Working Group to develop a plan for governing and implementing the Hawaiʻi Benefits Hub and related referral, tracking, compliance, and coordination systems, required reports to the Legislature, created a position within the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, and appropriated funds. The concept for this bill was similar to First Five Hawaiʻi, but expanded the bridging of citizen need and eligibility requirements to social services beyond those relevant to families with young children.
HB 2597: Relating to Artificial Intelligence
Would have required the Chief Data Officer to enhance the State's open data portal through phased development of an artificial intelligence chatbot and data visualizations on statewide shared data sets, to develop a system for evaluating and selecting AI governance tools for state departments and agencies, to establish a mechanism for reporting and publishing AI use cases and vendors used by those departments and agencies, and would have appropriated funds. While we understand the need to improve the open data portal, we believe investments and governance work are first needed to ensure the platform is fully utilized and regularly updated by departments. Only then should additional investments in accessibility tools, such as AI, be considered.
HB 2155 / SB 2404: Relating to Agricultural Statistics
Would have established and revitalized the Agricultural Statistics Program within the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to collect data on local agricultural interests, and appropriated funds. The Department uses a significant amount of data. This investment in revitalizing data and statistics could have resulted in improvements in the functioning of the Department as well as more timely and relevant data for agriculture stakeholders.
HB 2117: Relating to the Arts
Would have established the Mapping of Arts Data for Education Task Force to conduct a study and develop a comprehensive, publicly available statewide database and geographic information systems map of arts entities and programs engaged in arts and arts education, required interim and final reports to the Legislature, and sunset the Task Force upon submission of its final report. While the bill did not pass, HCR 162 was passed, establishing an Arts Data and Mapping Task Force to survey entities engaged in arts and arts education statewide and develop a comprehensive statewide database and geographic information system map of arts entities and programs.
What Comes Next
Although these bills did not pass, they address foundational needs that warrant continued championing. Good data policy is about more than technical fixes. Support is built through education, coalition building, and demonstrating need and impact. Data policy should be grounded in issues people understand and care about. Nearly half the bills we tracked this year were carried over from prior sessions, so many may well return in 2027.
(1) Keywords we used to identify data-related bills: data, information, privacy, statistics, technology, artificial intelligence, IT infrastructure, chief data officer