HI HB304

Establishes English and Hawaiian as official languages of Hawaii and requires the Hawaiian version of a law to be held binding if the law was originally drafted in Hawaiian and translated to English, provided it has not been subsequently amended, codified, recodified, or reenacted in English.

Modifies Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 1-13 to clarify that when irreconcilable differences exist between English and Hawaiian versions of state laws, English remains binding except in cases where Hawaiian was the original draft language.

Cites the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (which the United States signed in 2011) as support for protecting indigenous language rights and enabling indigenous peoples to understand and be understood in legal proceedings.

References the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention's establishment of Hawaiian as an official language to honor Hawaiian cultural inheritance and the rights of indigenous peoples.

Effective date: July 1, 3000.