HRS §26-4

How the state's main departments are organized

This section lists the main departments of Hawaii's state government and says they all work under the governor. It names each department, like education, health, and transportation. The section does not explain what each department does, only that they exist and are part of the executive branch.

state agencies

The statute, as written — Structure of government

Under the supervision of the governor, all executive and administrative offices, departments, and instrumentalities of the state government and their respective functions, powers, and duties shall be allocated among and within the following principal departments that are hereby established: (1) Department of human resources development (Section 26-5); (2) Department of accounting and general services (Section 26-6); (3) Department of the attorney general (Section 26-7); (4) Department of budget and finance (Section 26-8); (5) Department of commerce and consumer affairs (Section 26-9); (6) Department of taxation (Section 26-10); (7) University of Hawaii (Section 26-11); (8) Department of education (Section 26-12); (9) Department of health (Section 26-13); (10) Department of human services (Section 26-14); (11) Department of land and natural resources (Section 26-15); (12) Department of agriculture and biosecurity (Section 26-16); (13) Department of Hawaiian home lands (Section 26-17); (14) Department of business, economic development, and tourism (Section 26-18); (15) Department of transportation (Section 26-19); (16) Department of labor and industrial relations (Section 26-20); (17) Department of defense (Section 26-21); (18) Department of corrections and rehabilitation (Section 26-14.6); and (19) Department of law enforcement (Section 26-14.8). [L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §3; am L 1961, c 132, §1(a); am L 1963, c 2, §1 and c 114, §§2, 4; Supp, §14A-1; HRS §26-4; am L 1970, c 105, §4; am L 1982, c 204, §8; am L 1987, c 336, §3(1), c 338, §1(2), and c 339, §2(1); am L 1989, c 211, §§3, 4; am L 1990, c 293, §8; am L 1991, c 293, §§1, 5; am L 1994, c 56, §1; am L 2022, c 278, §§3, 20; am L 2025, c 236, §17]

Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

Sections this one refers to

§26-10 Who runs the tax department and what it does

§26-11 Who runs the University of Hawaii and how the board is chosen

§26-12 How the Department of Education and Early Learning are organized

§26-13 Who runs the Health Department and what it does

§26-14 How the Department of Human Services is organized and what it does

§26-14.6 Who runs the corrections department and what it does

§26-14.8 Who leads the law enforcement department

§26-15 Who runs the land and water department

§26-16 How the agriculture and biosecurity department is run

§26-17 Who runs the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

§26-18 State business and tourism department setup

§26-19 Department of Transportation

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.