Joint conference defers multiple education bills, approves Maui nursing funding

A Joint House and Senate conference committee meeting in Conference Room 229 at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 22, deferred hearings on several higher-education and early-learning bills and approved a conference draft providing new nursing funding for the University of Hawaii Maui campus.

The committee approved Conference Draft 1 of S.P. 119, which appropriates $250,000 for fiscal year 2026 and $360,000 for fiscal year 2027 for nursing at the Maui campus. Members cast voice votes in favor of the conference draft and the committee chair declared the bill approved.

The approvals and deferrals matter because they set near-term deadlines for budget clearances and determine which proposals will move forward to final enactment or further negotiation. Several bills that would create or expand funding for nursing programs, workforce apprenticeships and university operations remain pending release from fiscal clearance before the committee will take final action.

Committee action and scheduling - S.P. 119 (conference draft 1): Approved by voice vote. The draft appropriates $250,000 (FY2026) and $360,000 (FY2027) for nursing at the Maui campus. Committee members recorded “Aye” during the roll call on the conference draft.

- Multiple House bills and senate bills were deferred to later sessions to await fiscal releases or to permit additional conference drafting. Notable scheduling outcomes included: - H.B. 3 (HT2 SD1), relating to beach management on the North Shore of Oahu: deferred to Wednesday, April 23 at 3:10 p.m. in Conference Room 229. - H.B. 442 (HT1 SD1), University of Hawaii nursing-related funding: sponsors said a conference draft (CD1) was being prepared and that the draft would specify amounts and a clean effective date; the bill was deferred to Wednesday, April 23 at 3:10 p.m. The sponsor described proposed appropriations across campuses, including line items for Manoa/West Oahu collaboration, an online RN-to-BS program, a West Oahu pre-nursing pathway, and increased cohort sizing at Hilo (amounts described during the meeting). - H.B. 549 (HD3 SD1), early learning apprenticeship grant program: fiscal impact was described as approximately $6,250,000 per year over the biennium in grants administered by the University of Hawaii College of Education; the bill was deferred to Thursday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m. - H.B. 1300 (HD1 ST1), relating to cancer: deferred to Thursday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m. - H.B. 1169 (HD1 ST2), University of Hawaii Conference Center revolving fund: deferred to Thursday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m., pending fiscal release. - H.B. 1170 (HD1 SD1), University of Hawaii resident tuition fee: deferred to Thursday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m., pending fiscal release. - H.B. 1171 (HD2 SD1), University of Hawaii relief funding: deferred to Thursday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m. - H.B. 718 (HD1 SD1), John A. Burns School of Medicine positions: sponsors circulated a conference draft (CD1) that included an appropriation of $763,000 in each fiscal year and 4 FTE positions; the bill was scheduled for Thursday, April 24 at 1:30 p.m. for further consideration and money-committee clearance. - H.B. 736 (HD1 SD1), relating to wastewater systems: moved to Friday, April 25 at 3:00 p.m. in Room 229.

At a later 3:00 p.m. session, conference conferees also rolled multiple education-related bills to April 23 at 1:30 p.m., including H.B. 987 (HD1 SD1) and several senate bills (S.B. 423, S.B. 532, S.B. 1300) and H.B. 62 (HC1 SD1) while awaiting fiscal releases and final conference drafts.

Discussion highlights Committee members and conferees repeatedly noted that several items were awaiting fiscal clearance or “release” (finance committee or WAM release on the House side) before the conference could finalize conference drafts. Sponsors said they were circulating conference drafts that would add clean effective dates and specify appropriation amounts where required. For one early-learning apprenticeship bill, a sponsor identified concerns about workforce capacity and said the apprenticeship model is “underutilized,” and she described the program’s estimated fiscal scale.

Next steps The committee set specific follow-up dates and times for the deferred bills (noted above) and committee staff indicated they would circulate conference drafts to conferees once fiscal releases and final language were available. S.P. 119 will proceed with the conference draft the committee approved.

Votes at a glance - S.P. 119 (Conference Draft 1): Approved (voice vote). Appropriation: $250,000 (FY2026), $360,000 (FY2027) for nursing at the University of Hawaii Maui campus.