Bill > HB146

This bill aims to support the Hawaii Judiciary's 'Olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) initiatives by appropriating funding for projects that promote the use of the Hawaiian language in the judicial system. The bill draws on constitutional provisions that recognize Hawaiian as an official language and call for the preservation of native Hawaiian culture, citing census data showing Hawaiian is the fifth most spoken language at home in the state. Recognizing that the judiciary has already begun exploring ways to provide Hawaiian language resources and translation services, the bill seeks to provide additional funding to advance these efforts. The legislation emphasizes that the funds are not intended to replace existing judiciary budgets, but rather to support new initiatives. Specifically, the bill appropriates an unspecified sum of money for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to be used by the judiciary for 'Olelo Hawaii projects, with the goal of making court resources and services more accessible in the Hawaiian language. The bill notes that providing multilingual government services is not unprecedented, pointing to other countries and the United Nations as examples of institutions that operate in multiple languages.

Budget and Finance, Justice

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=146&year=2026