2026 Legislative Goals
Indivisible Hawaiʻi is advocating the State Legislature on six issues key to our democracy. Read about them below.
Join Indivisible Hawaiʻi’s State Public Policy Team
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Migrant Rights
Establish Safe Places
Secure state law to replace the cancelled federal policy to limit immigration enforcement in churches, courts, schools, hospitals and health care centers/facilities so our non-citizen population are able to safely participate in activities that make all residents – documented and undocumented – safe and strong.
Limit state collaboration with DHS, ICE, and CBP
Seek new laws to limit deployment of the National Guard and prohibit agreements under §287(g) or others that would require state or county agencies and personnel to support or collaborate with actions that would violate the rights of residents or result in immigration enforcement.
No Secret Police: Establish No Masking and Law Enforcement ID
Enact a statute that requires immigration and law enforcement to be in uniform, with identification and no mask, with limited exceptions for medical reasons or undercover work.
TRUTH Act (Transparency & Consent in Custody)
Requires that people in state or county custody receive Know Your Rights information and provide written, informed consent before any civil immigration interview.
Sentencing Reform to Minimize Immigration Consequences
Reduces certain misdemeanor sentences from 365 days to 364 days and allows sentence modifications. Shortening by one day removes the trigger of mandatory detention or deportation under federal law. This reform promotes proportional sentencing and prevents unnecessary family separation.
Standardizing U & T Visa Certification with State and Local Agencies
Requires state and county certifying entities to adopt clear, timely, and transparent policies for certifying visas for survivors of serious crime and trafficking. Standardizing policies ensures survivors can report crimes safely, support law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, and access the protections guaranteed under federal law.
Develop resources for immigration targets to get help
Create and fund a helpline and other resources for persons involved with ICE actions.
Protect our right to record law enforcement activities
Affirm and protect citizensʻ first amendment right to record and document law enforcement activity as it happens.
Good Government / Free Elections
Protect Election Integrity & Expand Voter Access
Strengthen election security and oversight while expanding access to voting by improving voter services, extending key timelines, and modernizing registration systems
Expand Publicly Funded Elections
Support efforts to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s publicly funded elections system, including increased matching funds, higher contribution caps, changing the current Elections Campaign Fund (ECF) to generate sustainable funding, and relying on Democracy Dollars to amplify small donations.
Close Campaign Finance Loopholes
Update and strengthen campaign finance laws to close gaps that allow political money to be traded between candidates, influence public contracts, or weaken enforcement of campaign finance laws.
Curb the Influence of Big Money in Elections
Reduce the outsized role of independent expenditures and outside money by strengthening disclosure requirements and preventing foreign-influenced corporations and special interests from hiding political influence behind legal loopholes.
Affordability for Working Families
Hawaiʻi’s low- and middle-income families are being squeezed by the rising cost of living. While everyday households struggle to keep up, the wealthiest few pay a smaller share of their income in taxes. This makes it harder to fund what our communities rely on—healthcare, affordable housing, food security, roads, schools, care for our keiki and kupuna, funding to address climate change, and other essentials . Our local businesses rely on these investments to produce a healthy and educated workforce they need to succeed. These investments are the building blocks of a healthy, thriving community and we deserve to have the very best. Fair taxation is how we’ll get there.
Freezing Act 46
Act 46 of 2024 cuts Hawaiʻi state income tax, reducing Hawaiʻi state revenue by $240 million in 2025 and more than $1.4 billion by 2031. By reworking these tax cuts to favor working families and freezing these state income tax cuts to the high income earners, Hawaiʻi would save $296 million+ per year.
Closing the Capital Gains Loophole
Hawaiʻi is one of only nine states that allows capital gains to be taxed at a lower rate than ordinary working people’s income. By taxing capital gains at the rate of ordinary income of up to 11% instead of 7.2%, Hawaiʻi would raise $84 million per year.
Conveyance/Sales Tax Reform for Luxury Homes
The conveyance tax, a one-time tax paid to the state when a property is sold, in Hawaiʻi is much lower than in cities like Seattle and San Francisco. Raise tax rates to 2% – 6% from 0.5% – 1.25% for homes worth $2+ million and Hawaiʻi would raise $68.5+ million per year.
Taxing Real Estate Investment Trusts
A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns income-producing properties like hotels, malls, and office buildings. REIT properties benefit from the public service and infrastructure provided by Hawaiʻi but most of the REIT shareholders aren’t taxed in Hawaiʻi. By closing this state REIT tax loophole, Hawaiʻi would raise $36 million to $60 million per year.
Millionaires Income Tax
U.S. Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) in July 2025, which would give a federal tax cut of $43,000 on average to those earning $1 million or more. This average federal tax cut by OBBBA for those earning $1 million or more would be 476 times more than for those earning $28,200. Add 2% surcharge to income above $1 million to raise $71+ million per year.
Child Tax Credit
Tax credits put money back in the pockets of Hawaiʻi’s working families, helping them afford basic necessities and invest in their children’s futures. Raising children is expensive—recent reports show that the cost of raising a child is over $200,000 throughout the child’s lifetime. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily increased the federal credit to $3,600 for children under 6 and $3,000 for children under 18, bringing millions of families out of poverty. A refundable state child tax credit of $650 for each child aged 0-18 would help Hawaiʻiʻs working families.
Earned Income Tax Credit
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a special tax credit for people that are employed. It allows families to keep more of what they earn, helping them put food on the table. The state EITC for Hawaiʻi mirrors the federal credit, and it’s refundable. Most EITC recipients are raising children
Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
A tax credit helping working parents and family caregivers offset costs for care for qualifying keiki, kupuna, or other dependents, enabling them to work or look for work.
This bill would help many more families than Act 163, SLH 2023 by increasing a taxpayer’s applicable percentage of employment-related expenses that is used to calculate the household and dependent care services tax credit. Act 163 intended to provide approximately $47,000,000 of financial relief to working families but the Department of Taxation later estimated the cost of Act 163 to be only $9,500,000.
Healthcare Access
Hawai‘i is expecting a significant increase in the number of people with no health insurance coverage due to loss of ACA subsidies, Medicaid cuts, and/or immigration status. Hawaii is the one big risk pool; when the number of uninsured people increases, it raises healthcare costs for all of us. Hawai‘i will need to increase state funding and consider new programs to preserve a strong healthcare system and safety net. Supporting the Tax Fairness bills (above) is critical to generating the state revenues necessary to support basic health and human services in the face of federal cuts. Hawaii’s tradition of supporting reproductive rights must be upheld and strengthened in the face of federal attacks.
State-funded Programs for Uninsured
Increased funding and new state programs needed to assist individuals who have lost health insurance coverage due to loss of ACA subsidies and Medicaid cuts, and/or immigration status.
Support Healthcare Safety Net Providers
Provide state funding to healthcare safety net medical providers, such as Federally Qualified Community Health Centers. Expand tax incentives to include more safety net providers, including optometrists, audiologists and chiropractors.
Healthy Women and Children, regardless of immigration status
Provide Medicaid coverage to all pregnant women and children, regardless of immigration status
Protect Abortion Access and Privacy
Prohibit the State from interfering with the right to obtain abortion and contraceptives. Protect access to clinics that provide reproductive health services. Require all hospitals to provide emergency care to pregnant women, including abortion. Allow pregnant persons to receive abortion medication with a label that does not bear their name and other identifying information.
Support Hawaii’s vaccine policies
Advocate for Hawaii’s current evidence-based vaccine programs and block anti-vaccine bills.
LGBTQIA+ Rights
Shield Law for Gender Affirming Care
Medical provider shield laws are state-level legal protections for healthcare providers (and sometimes patients/supporters) offering reproductive and gender-affirming care that’s legal in their state, shielding them from out-of-state investigations, civil/criminal penalties, and professional discipline, particularly in states with bans. Enact strong shield legislation to block cooperation with out-of-state requests, protect medical records, and prevent license loss for providing care lawful where given, with about half the states enacting some form of these protections.
This bill expands the protections established under Act 2, SLH 2023, to include gender-affirming health care services. Clarifies jurisdiction under the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act for cases involving children who obtain gender-affirming health care service.
Gun Safety
Coming Soon
Coming Soon