AI Frontier Institute

Relating To Artificial Intelligence.

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Hawaii H.B. 2597 (H.D. 1 / S.D. 1), introduced in the 33rd Legislature (2026), amends Chapter 27 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to expand the responsibilities of the Chief Data Officer (CDO) and establish new AI-related requirements for state government. Section 1 adds two new statutory sections: Section 27-A directs the CDO to enhance the state's open data portal at data.hawaii.gov into a 'Comprehensive Hawaii Data Hub' by developing and publishing an AI chatbot in phases, with yearly audits and full transparency. The chatbot must support English and Olelo Hawaii, include source links and AI-generated-content disclaimers, offer human escalation, prohibit legal and medical advice, and comply with state privacy and security policies. State departments deploying their own chatbots must use or link to this centralized chatbot. Section 27-B requires the CDO to develop a system to evaluate and procure AI governance tools for state departments and agencies, and to establish a reporting mechanism for AI use cases and vendors, with results published on data.hawaii.gov. Section 2 amends Section 27-44, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to formally add chatbot development to the CDO's statutory duties and to expand the data task force's advisory role to include the AI chatbot initiative. Section 3 appropriates general funds for fiscal year 2026-2027 to cover chatbot development, AI governance tools, new AI engineer and AI scientist full-time positions, and open data portal improvements. The Act takes effect January 1, 2077.

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