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SR 149

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE HAWAII REVISED STATUTES AND RECOMMEND AMENDMENTS TO INCORPORATE GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMINOLOGY.

2025 Regular Session

Hawaii legislature directs its Reference Bureau to review all state statutes and recommend amendments replacing gender-specific language with gender-neutral terminology for modernization.

Report and Resolution Adopted as amended (SD 1). Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella).
#commissiononthestatusofwomen #gender-neutralterminology #inclusivelanguage #lgbtq+commission #lrb #report
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Bill Summary · SR 149

Legislative bill overview

SR 149 requests that Hawaii's Legislative Reference Bureau conduct a comprehensive review of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to identify and recommend amendments that replace gender-specific language with gender-neutral terminology. The resolution passed the Senate on April 1, 2025, with three opposing votes, and directs the bureau to complete this legislative housekeeping task.

Why is this important

The Hawaii Revised Statutes contain numerous gendered pronouns and terms (he/she, man/woman, father/mother) that may not reflect contemporary legislative drafting standards or inclusivity practices. Systematizing gender-neutral language could modernize state law, reduce ambiguity in legal interpretation, and align Hawaii's statutory language with evolving best practices in legislative drafting across multiple states.

Potential points of contention

  • Cost and priority concerns: Opponents may view this as a resource-intensive project that diverts the Legislative Reference Bureau from other statutory priorities, particularly given tight legislative budgets
  • Substantive vs. technical debate: Critics may argue that replacing gendered language is merely cosmetic unless accompanied by substantive legal changes addressing underlying inequities
  • Scope and implementation timeline: Disagreement may exist over which statutes require review, how thoroughly the bureau should examine interconnected provisions, and whether a single pass through all statutes is sufficient or multiple reviews are needed

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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