Senate Judiciary committee advances wide slate of bills; ghost‑gun cleanup measure fails

The Senate Committee on Judiciary met on 2026-02-02 and considered a packed decision-only agenda, approving most measures on a range of topics including campaign finance, firearms restrictions, housing exemptions and administrative timelines. One firearms-related cleanup bill did not pass.

Chair Rhodes told the committee it recommended passing SB 1032 with amendments to change a proposed short-notice certification requirement for business entities into a single election-cycle certification and to direct the campaign spending commission to adopt revised, constitutional standards if parts of the bill are struck down by final judgment. “We’ll replace the proposed subsection…to allow such an entity, if it intends to make contributions or expenditures within an election cycle, to certify that it did not and will not be a foreign corporation or foreign influenced business entity for the entire election cycle,” the chair said.

The committee approved a set of firearms measures with differing scopes: SB 401 would add rifles capable of firing .50‑caliber ammunition to the list of prohibited weapons (excluding antique pistols and muzzleloaders), add a grandfathering clause for legally registered devices as of the bill’s effective date, and exclude shotguns from coverage. Members raised concerns about inheritance restrictions under the proposed ban; the committee nevertheless passed SB 401 by roll call.

SB 308, which narrows a loophole by extending detachable‑magazine restrictions (maintaining a 10‑round limit for pistols and proposing a 30‑round cap for other firearms), was amended to include a grandfather clause and approved. SB 363, a cleanup bill tied to the 2020 ghost‑gun law that would have updated definitions and penalty provisions and adopted department-proposed language, failed to be adopted after recorded 'no' votes and the vice chair voting no.

Beyond firearms, the committee adopted SB 382 (prohibiting procurement officers from disclosing competing offerors’ proposals or evaluation scores except limited debriefing summaries), SB 597 (extending deadlines for the administrative driver’s license revocation office so labs can complete testing), and SB 1170 (exempting certain affordable rental housing projects from special management area permits only for post‑disaster redevelopment and subject to planning office amendments). The committee also adopted SB 1296, which narrows SMA exemptions for reconstruction in the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District damaged in the 08/08/2023 wildfire, subject to AG and Planning Office amendments and a five‑year reconstruction window tied to the governor’s proclamation.

Other measures adopted included SB 771 (changing HHFDC chair eligibility), SB 1318 (keeping criminal water pollution enforcement with the Department of Health), SB 1657 (authorizing the Agribusiness Development Corporation to condemn private real property but not other public property per committee direction), SB 1102 (establishing term limits and an appointment shortlist process for the state aircraft rescue/fire chief), and SB 100 (narrowing fingerprinting requirements for nonprofit leaders in counties under 500,000 population). Where votes or reservations were recorded, they are noted in the committee record; several measures were adopted with no recorded opposition announced during the meeting.

The committee adjourned and announced a joint hearing with Ways and Means at 10:25 a.m. in room 211.

What happens next: Most measures advanced by the committee will proceed according to the Senate’s legislative process; SB 363 was not adopted and would need further work before another committee vote or reconsideration if sponsors pursue it.