§1-2 Certain laws not obligatory until published. No written law, unless otherwise specifically provided by legislative enactment, except general or special appropriation acts, loan fund acts, pension acts, and franchise acts, shall be obligatory without first being printed and made public. General or special appropriation acts, loan fund acts, pension acts, and franchise acts, whether affecting state funds or the funds of county or other municipal subdivisions or commissions, shall become operative according to their respective terms. [CC 1859, §1; RL 1925, §3; RL 1935, §3; am L 1935, c 10, §2; RL 1945, §3; RL 1955, §1-3; HRS §1-2] Case Notes Prior to amendment spelling out that legislature may provide a different effective date, statute was so interpreted. 29 H. 250, 255. See 37 H. 260. Under article III, section 16, of the Constitution, a law may become applicable from the time the governor approves it. 59 H. 430, 583 P.2d 955.
Hawaii Legal Code