HI HB2591

Directs Hawaii's Chief Data Officer to develop and publish an AI chatbot on the state's open data portal (data.hawaii.gov) to help the public navigate government data and find information about statewide services across departments and agencies.

Requires the chatbot to operate in English and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, include source links for all answers, display an AI-generated disclaimer, provide a way to connect users with humans, and prohibit giving legal or medical advice.

Mandates the Chief Data Officer adopt rules covering security safeguards based on NIST standards, privacy protections preventing model training on user prompts, data retention limits, and protocols for monitoring chatbot queries and responses.

Establishes a system for evaluating and procuring AI governance tools for state departments and agencies, with a reporting mechanism for AI use cases and vendors to be published on the open data portal.

Appropriates $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027 to develop the chatbot, acquire AI governance tools, create two new positions (AI engineer and AI scientist), and improve the open data portal, effective July 1, 2026.