---
type: "Bill"
title: "RELATING TO THE CHILD PROTECTIVE ACT."
description: "Adds a definition for \"exigent circumstances\" and amends the definitions of \"harm\" and \"imminent harm\" under the Child Protective Act. Clarifies when the police may take protective custody of a child and when the Department of Human Services may assume temporary foster custody of a child when exigent circumstances are present. Creates a judicial process for filing a petition for an order for protective custody, including the circumstances where such an order may be issued without notice and without a hearing. Effective July 1, 2025. (HD2)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/hi"
legislature: "Hawaii Legislature"
session: "2024"
identifier: "SB 2245"
citation: "Hawaii SB 2245 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Child Protective Act", "DHS", "Exigent Circumstances", "Harm", "Imminent Harm", "Protective Custody", "Temporary Foster Custody"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["AQUINO", "CHANG", "FEVELLA", "MORIWAKI", "SAN BUENAVENTURA"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 41
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2024-01-18"
last_action: "2024-07-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/397cdaf7-36ad-44d4-a147-f548fd291d53"
source_url: "https://capitol.hawaii.gov/session/archives/measure_indiv_Archives.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2245&year=2024"
source_hash: "ff5bdc007392398b14cb3dca3823b1fbfa28e8600e0e44d8400add419902c2d7"
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 2245 (2024) — RELATING TO THE CHILD PROTECTIVE ACT.

Adds a definition for "exigent circumstances" and amends the definitions of "harm" and "imminent harm" under the Child Protective Act. Clarifies when the police may take protective custody of a child and when the Department of Human Services may assume temporary foster custody of a child when exigent circumstances are present. Creates a judicial process for filing a petition for an order for protective custody, including the circumstances where such an order may be issued without notice and without a hearing. Effective July 1, 2025. (HD2)

## Version chain

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

1. **SB2245** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2024/bills/SB2245_.HTM)
2. **SB2245_HD1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2024/bills/SB2245_HD1_.HTM)
3. **SB2245_HD2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2024/bills/SB2245_HD2_.HTM)
4. **SB2245_SD1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2024/bills/SB2245_SD1_.HTM)

## Votes

- Reconsider: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. — **3–0** (pass) · upper
- Reconsider: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **9–0** (pass) · lower
- The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **4–1** (pass) · upper
- The committee on HUS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. — **7–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- AQUINO — primary (person)
- CHANG — primary (person)
- FEVELLA — primary (person)
- MORIWAKI — primary (person)
- SAN BUENAVENTURA — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-07-02** Act 144, 07/01/2024 (Gov. Msg. No. 1245). `became-law`
- **2024-07-02** Act 144, on 07/01/2024 (Gov. Msg. No. 1245). `became-law`
- **2024-04-23** Enrolled to Governor. `executive-receipt`
- **2024-04-23** Received notice of reconsideration, Senate agreement, and Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 771). `receipt`
- **2024-04-23** Passed Final Reading. Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 3 Excused: Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Fukunaga, Lee. `passage`
- **2024-04-22** Received notice of all Senate conferees being discharged (Sen. Com. No. 761). `receipt`
- **2024-04-22** One Day Notice 04-23-24.
- **2024-04-22** Senate agrees with House amendments. Placed on the calendar for Final Reading on 04-23-24.
- **2024-04-22** Reconsideration of action taken on 04-11-24 in disagreeing to the House amendments.
- **2024-04-22** Senate Conferee(s) discharged.
- **2024-04-18** Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 694). `receipt`
- **2024-04-18** Senate Conferees Appointed: San Buenaventura Chair; Rhoads Co-Chair; Shimabukuro.
- **2024-04-16** Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 737). `receipt`
- **2024-04-15** House Conferees Appointed: Marten, Tarnas Co-Chairs; Amato, Kobayashi, Takayama, Souza.
- **2024-04-11** Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 673). `receipt`
- **2024-04-11** Senate disagrees with House amendments. `amendment-failure`
- **2024-04-11** Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 697). `introduction, receipt`
- **2024-04-09** Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. `passage`
- **2024-04-05** Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 04-09-24.
- **2024-04-05** Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1849-24) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.
- **2024-04-03** The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Takayama, Evslin, Ganaden, Holt, Ichiyama, Ilagan, Kong, Miyake; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Souza. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-04-01** Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 04-03-24 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
- **2024-03-20** Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick, Ward voting no (3) and Representative(s) Holt, Kitagawa, Lamosao, Lowen, Nakashima excused (5). `reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2024-03-20** Reported from HUS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1236-24) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
- **2024-03-12** The committee on HUS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Amato, Belatti, Ilagan, Kobayashi, Takenouchi, Nishimoto; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and Excused: none. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-03-08** Bill scheduled to be heard by HUS on Tuesday, 03-12-24 9:15AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
- **2024-03-07** Referred to HUS, JHA, referral sheet 16 `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-07** Pass First Reading `reading-1`
- **2024-03-05** Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 89) in amended form (SD 1). `introduction, receipt`
- **2024-03-05** Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Awa). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. `passage`
- **2024-03-01** One Day Notice 03-05-24.
- **2024-03-01** Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2973) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
- **2024-02-28** The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Elefante, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard, Awa. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-02-20** The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 02-28-24 10:00AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.
- **2024-02-15** Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. `reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2024-02-15** Reported from HHS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2470) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.
- **2024-01-31** The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Keohokalole, Shimabukuro; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-01-26** The committee(s) on HHS has scheduled a public hearing on 01-31-24 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
- **2024-01-19** Referred to HHS, JDC. `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-18** Passed First Reading. `reading-1`
- **2024-01-18** Introduced. `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/397cdaf7-36ad-44d4-a147-f548fd291d53`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Hawaii legislature records).