---
type: "Bill"
title: "RELATING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE."
description: "Part I: Establishes a petty misdemeanor offense of abuse of family or household members. Clarifies the penalties for violations. Allows a deferred acceptance of guilty plea for misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor abuse of family or household members offenses. Establishes a probationary period for abuse of family or household members. Part II: Makes consistent the types of documents accepted as proof of domestic or sexual violence victim status. Part III: Requires the judiciary to submit annual reports on the number and outcome of abuse cases. Part I sunsets 6/30/2026. Effective 1/1/2021. (HD3)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/hi"
legislature: "Hawaii Legislature"
session: "2020 Regular Session"
identifier: "SB 2638"
citation: "Hawaii SB 2638 (2020 Regular Session)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Abuse of Family or Household Member", "Petty Misdemeanor", "Penalties", "Pilot Program", "Domestic Violence", "Sexual Violence", "Victims", "Proof of Status"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Baker", "K. RHOADS", "Kidani", "Moriwaki"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 40
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2020-01-17"
last_action: "2020-09-15"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1f6afd9b-96fe-4526-906f-e157efea06e8"
source_url: "http://capitol.hawaii.gov/Archives/measure_indiv_Archives8-12.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2638&year=2020"
source_hash: "41afba28016b50506376cea58c9b2030d536d381c6fd039e6e9b18266bd21b0d"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-hi"]
---

# Hawaii SB 2638 (2020 Regular Session) — RELATING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

Part I: Establishes a petty misdemeanor offense of abuse of family or household members. Clarifies the penalties for violations. Allows a deferred acceptance of guilty plea for misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor abuse of family or household members offenses. Establishes a probationary period for abuse of family or household members. Part II: Makes consistent the types of documents accepted as proof of domestic or sexual violence victim status. Part III: Requires the judiciary to submit annual reports on the number and outcome of abuse cases. Part I sunsets 6/30/2026. Effective 1/1/2021. (HD3)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **SB2638** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2020/bills/SB2638_.HTM)
2. **SB2638_HD1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2020/bills/SB2638_HD1_.HTM)
3. **SB2638_HD2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2020/bills/SB2638_HD2_.HTM)
4. **SB2638_HD3** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2020/bills/SB2638_HD3_.HTM)
5. **SB2638_SD1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2020/bills/SB2638_SD1_.HTM)
6. **SB2638_SD2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2020/bills/SB2638_SD2_.HTM)

## Votes

- The committees on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **7–1** (pass) · lower
- The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **4–0** (pass) · upper
- The committees on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **14–0** (pass) · lower
- The committees on JUD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **9–1** (pass) · lower
- The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **4–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Baker — primary (person)
- K. RHOADS — primary (person)
- Kidani — primary (person)
- Moriwaki — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-17** Introduced. `introduction`
- **2020-01-21** Passed First Reading. `reading-1`
- **2020-01-23** Referred to PSM, JDC. `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-28** The committee(s) on PSM has scheduled a public hearing on 01-31-20 1:15PM in conference room 414.
- **2020-01-31** The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in PSM were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Nishihara, Wakai, Harimoto; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Fevella ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Baker. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-02-04** Reported from PSM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2331) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.
- **2020-02-04** Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC.
- **2020-02-21** The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 02-24-20 12:00PM in conference room 016.
- **2020-02-24** The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) K. Rhoads, J.Keohokalole, Kim, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-02-28** Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3262) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2).
- **2020-02-28** 48 Hrs. Notice 03-03-20.
- **2020-03-03** Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. `passage`
- **2020-03-03** Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 311) in amended form (SD 2). `introduction`
- **2020-03-05** Pass First Reading `reading-1`
- **2020-03-09** Referred to HSH, JUD, FIN, referral sheet 36 `referral-committee`
- **2020-03-10** Bill scheduled to be heard by HSH on Wednesday, 03-11-20 10:00AM in House conference room 329.
- **2020-03-11** The committees on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) San Buenaventura, Nakamura, Belatti, B. Kobayashi, Mizuno, Tokioka; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Say; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Ward; and Excused: none. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-03-13** Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1048-20) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JUD.
- **2020-03-13** Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JUD with Representative(s) Ward voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Gates, McDermott, Thielen excused (3). `reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2020-03-13** Bill scheduled to be heard by JUD on Tuesday, 03-17-20 2:05PM in House conference room 325.
- **2020-03-16** This measure has been deleted from the meeting scheduled on Tuesday 03-17-20 2:05PM in conference room 325.
- **2020-06-22** Bill scheduled to be heard by JUD on Wednesday, 06-24-20 3:05PM in House conference room 325.
- **2020-06-24** The committees on JUD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) C. Lee, San Buenaventura, Creagan, Lowen, McKelvey, Nakashima, Perruso, Takayama, Yamane; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Say; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Brower, Thielen. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-06-25** Reported from JUD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1227-20) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.
- **2020-06-25** Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Okimoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cabanilla Arakawa, Matayoshi excused (2).
- **2020-06-26** Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Monday, 06-29-20 2:00PM in House conference room 329.
- **2020-06-29** The committees on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Luke, Cullen, Eli, Gates, Hashimoto, Holt, Kitagawa, B. Kobayashi, Nakamura, Nishimoto, Todd, Wildberger, Yamashita, McDermott; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Matayoshi. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-07-02** Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1278-20) as amended in HD 3, recommending passage on Third Reading.
- **2020-07-02** Forty-eight (48) hours notice Monday, 07-06-20.
- **2020-07-06** Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with Representative(s) Okimoto voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Ward voting no (1) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. `passage`
- **2020-07-06** Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 404). `introduction`
- **2020-07-08** Senate agrees with House amendments. Placed on the calendar for Final Reading on 07-10-20.
- **2020-07-08** One Day Notice 07-10-20.
- **2020-07-10** Passed Final Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.
- **2020-07-10** Received notice of Senate agreement and Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 632).
- **2020-07-13** Enrolled to Governor. `executive-receipt`
- **2020-08-31** Notice of intent to veto (Gov. Msg. No. 1119)
- **2020-08-31** Notice of Intent to veto dated 08-31-20 (Gov. Msg. No. 1119)
- **2020-09-15** Act 019, 09/15/2020 (Gov. Msg. No. 1124). `executive-signature`
- **2020-09-15** Act 019, on 09/15/2020 (Gov. Msg. No. 1124). `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1f6afd9b-96fe-4526-906f-e157efea06e8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Hawaii legislature records).