In the 2026 legislative session, Indivisible Hawaiʻi's Public Policy Action Group (PPAG) proved what's possible when everyday people come together to advocate for their communities. Our 266 members — many of whom had never submitted testimony before 2026 — championed six critical issues and helped move dozens of bills through the legislative process.
This is what democracy looks like when we show up.
2026 wins at a glance
Here's what we accomplished together:
- Migrant Rights: Moved 5 bills through passage protecting immigrants' dignity and due process rights
- Good Government/Free & Fair Elections: Passed 4 bills, including the groundbreaking Act 11 (SB2471) that challenges the dark money allowed by Citizens United
- Affordability for Working Families: Stopped tax cuts for the wealthy and increased taxes on high earners (SB3125)
- Healthcare Access (including LGBTQ+ Rights): Protected reproductive rights and gender-affirming care through 4 measures
- Gun Safety: Advanced 2 bills to conference stage (though they did not ultimately pass)
All of these measures are now awaiting the Governor's review, which finishes in July. We'll update this page after his decision.
How the PPAG works
The Public Policy Action Group is where Indivisible Hawaiʻi members turn their values into action. We don't just advocate — we strategically track bills through the legislative process, coordinate testimony, and build relationships with committee chairs and local legislators.
Here's what that looked like in 2026:
We organized around six priority issues. Working alongside coalition partners like the Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights, League of Women Voters, Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action, and others, we identified the bills that would have the greatest impact on our communities.
We tracked every step. Each bill we supported had a dedicated lead who monitored its progress through committees, conference, and floor votes. When a bill needed support, we mobilized. (If you'd like to understand the gauntlet a bill faces to become law, read our Deep Dive into Hawaiʻi's Legislative Process.)
We made it accessible. We provided training, sample testimony for each bill, notifications of pending hearings, and clear instructions about deadlines. Whether someone was testifying for the first time or the twentieth, they had what they needed to make their voice heard.
We showed up everywhere: written testimony, live testimony at hearings, direct advocacy with key legislators, rallies at the Capitol, phone calls, emails, and statewide sign-waving. Whatever it took to move these bills forward.
For a detailed look at how this advocacy works in practice, read our case study on how we made Act 11 (SB2471) become law.
The bills: What we supported and why
Migrant Rights
In January 2026, Indivisible Hawaiʻi joined the Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights (HCIR), the ACLU-Hawaiʻi, League of Women Voters, The Legal Clinic, and many more partners to launch the Campaign for Immigrant Justice.
The Campaign moved 5 migrant rights bills through passage, and they are now ready for the Governor to sign. As the legislative committees were considering these measures, 7 of the 10 most active submitters of testimony were Indivisibles.
- HB1838 U&T Visa Procedure requires agencies to develop standards for offering U visas and T visas to immigrant crime victims and trafficking survivors.
- HB1839 Trust Act Rights advises inmates of their rights before contact with ICE.
- HB1870 Protected Locations adopts standards for all state and county facilities in non-public areas, ensuring immigrants can access essential services without fear.
- SB2057 Prohibit Assist to Feds prohibits assistance to federal immigration enforcement under 8 USC 1357(g).
- SB2125 SD1 DOE Emergency Hires extends the Department of Education's emergency hire authority from three years to five, helping schools retain qualified educators regardless of immigration status.
Unfortunately, the "No Mask, Wear ID" bills were abandoned after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that a similar California law violated the Supremacy Clause.
Good Government – Free & Fair Elections
For this issue in 2026, Indivisible Hawaiʻi partnered with the League of Women Voters, Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA), and Clean Elections Hawaiʻi. Four bills are now ready for the Governor to sign.
- SB2471 Limiting the Powers of Artificial Persons (Act 11) makes Citizens United irrelevant in Hawaiʻi by removing political spending powers from corporations. This bill made national headlines when it passed 74-1 on the last day of the session. Senators Rhoads and Keohokālole and Representative Matayoshi confirmed in our legislative webinar that without Indivisibles' continual outreach, this bill would have died. Read more about how we made this happen.
- SB2466 Chief Election Officer Termination for Cause Only protects the Chief Election Officer from partisan dismissal.
- SB2143 Order of Succession for Chief Election Officer specifies who can act as interim Chief Election Officer in the event of a vacancy.
- HB2050 Partial Public Financing of Elections increases the expenditure limit and the amount of partial public campaign financing available for all elective offices, and increases matching fund payments for excess qualifying contributions.
Affordability for Working Families
For Affordability for Working Families, Indivisible Hawaiʻi decided to join the Hawaiʻi Tax Fairness Coalition to advocate for tax revenues to pay for the public goods and services working families need, and tax credits to make Hawaiʻi more affordable for working families.
The state legislature passed SB3125 to stop tax cuts for the wealthy and to tax high earners more. SB3125 is enrolled to the governor and expected to be signed.
Tax credits for working families, capital gain tax, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and conveyance tax will be worked on again in 2027.
Healthcare Access (including LGBTQ+ Rights)
For Healthcare Access, Indivisible Hawaiʻi partnered with Hawaiʻi Planned Parenthood, ACOG Hawaiʻi (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), Hawaiʻi Healthcare Safety Net Coalition, and Save Medicaid Hawaiʻi.
- HB1961 protects reproductive rights by making it unlawful for a person to interfere with access to a healthcare facility.
- HCR6/HR5/SCR7 protects reproductive rights by affirming the requirement that all hospitals provide life-saving emergency care for pregnant people, including abortion care.
- HB1875 is a shield law to protect providers delivering gender-affirming care from abusive litigation.
Gun Safety
For gun safety legislation, Indivisible Hawaiʻi partnered with Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Everytown, and Brady.
We supported 9 bills with written, online, and in-person testimony. Two of these made it to the conference stage but were not assigned conferees, and therefore did not advance. We'll be back in 2027 to continue this fight.
This could be you
The majority of our Public Policy Action Group had never submitted testimony before 2026. They weren't policy experts or political insiders. They were people like you who decided their voice mattered, and they were right.
When Senator Rhoads told us that SB2471 would have died without our advocacy, he wasn't being polite. He was stating a fact. Bills don't pass themselves. Change doesn't happen because it's the right thing to do. It happens because people show up, again and again, to make it happen.
If you've read this far, you're clearly interested in making a difference. The 2027 legislative session is already on the horizon, and there's work to be done.
Join the waitlist to be notified when we gear up for the 2027 session. Once we get started, you'll get access to training and can choose to receive the alerts, so you can submit testimony and get your voice heard.