HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Lawmakers passed several family-focused bills during the 2025 legislative session that now await the governor’s signature.
Leaders from the nonprofit organization Hawaii Children’s Action Network, Noelle Zimdahl and Joanna Kwon, participated in a discussion with Sunrise to address how these proposed laws aim to assist working families in coping with the elevated cost of living in Hawaii.
The Preschool Open Doors initiative, House Bill 692, aims to extend financial assistance to enhance and broaden accessible early education opportunities for families with 2-year-old kids.
Expansion of Free School Meals, Senate Bill 1300, looks to address the issue of food insecurity. Over the next two years, students will be eligible for reduced lunches will have access to free school meals. Meals must be provided to a student regardless of account balance.
“These two bills will hopefully take those families from surviving to thriving,” Zimdahl added.
The nonprofit mentioned that previous sessions frequently saw numerous proposals fail due to pushback against the financial burdens tied to their execution, or because they were outshined by other pressing statewide concerns.
It consistently demands greater efforts to guarantee these bills receive adequate consideration," stated Deborah Zysman, who serves as the executive director of HCAN Speaks!. "These bills often go unnoticed despite tackling core, foundational problems that deal with significant, expensive challenges within our state.
Another step pending the governor’s approval is the Paid Family and Medical Leave Working Group, Senate Concurrent Resolution 145, This is a proposal to establish a task force aimed at investigating the adoption of paid family and medical leave benefits.
Even with the achievements of this legislative session, the nonprofit pointed out two bills that did not pass.
Early Learning Apprenticeship Grant Initiative, HB 549 This initiative funds and supports early education program providers in the state to join state or federally endorsed early learning apprenticeship programs.
Increase in Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, House Bill 753 which would have allowed families to increase the maximum percentage of household and dependent care expenses that may be claimed for the tax credit.
“We’ll be back again next session to continue our fight for families,” Zysman said.
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