HB 780 Summary

• Amends Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 1-13 to establish that if a law was originally drafted in Hawaiian and then translated to English, the Hawaiian version shall be held binding in case of radical and irreconcilable differences between versions.

• Requires use of ʻokina (glottal stop, represented as left single quotation mark) and kahakō (macron over vowels) in Hawaiian language words in documents prepared by state or county agencies or officials, when appropriate.

• Exempts documents submitted to state or county agencies by members of the general public from the requirement to use ʻokina and kahakō.

• Voids any rule, order, policy, or other act that prohibits or discourages use of ʻokina and kahakō symbols.

• Takes effect upon approval; recognizes Hawaii's contribution to international indigenous peoples' rights movement and aligns with Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.