STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 666
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2025
RE: H.B. No. 1404
H.D. 1
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Madame:
Your Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water & Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 1404 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CESSPOOL CLOSURE,"
beg leave to report as follows:
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Health; Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition; and three individuals.
Your Committees find that every cesspool in the State, excluding those granted certain exemptions, must be upgraded or converted to a Director of Health-approved wastewater system or connected to a sewerage system by January 1, 2050. Your Committees further find that in some areas that currently have cesspools, counties are planning to install new wastewater infrastructure to connect homes to county sewers. Your Committees believe that the State should support these initiatives and offer a subsidy to homeowners for their portion of the sewer lateral connections to help offset costs. This measure addresses this need by appropriating funds to create residential sewer connection and cesspool closure subsidy pilot programs to assist with sewer projects nearing implementation.
Your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Changing the appropriations to an unspecified amount and deleting the appropriations for fiscal year 2026-2027;
(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
Your Committees respectfully request your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider appropriation amounts of:
(1) $12,000,000 for the City and County of Honolulu to establish a Residential Sewer Connection and Cesspool Closure Subsidy Pilot Program; and
(2) $6,000,000 for the County of Hawaii to establish a Residential Sewer Connection and Cesspool Closure Subsidy Pilot Program.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water & Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1404, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1404, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water & Land,
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____________________________ MARK J. HASHEM, Chair |
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____________________________ NICOLE E. LOWEN, Chair |
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