STAND. COM. REP. NO. 762

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 367

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 367 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BUILDING PERMITS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow for building permit exemptions for certain kinds of activities, including agricultural structures and maintenance activities.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau and Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that the existing building permit requirements for minor repairs, interior remodeling, and certain uninhabited structures in the State can cause unnecessary delays and administrative burdens for property owners and developers. Many maintenance activities and small-scale projects, such as routine repairs or the installation of accessory structures, pose minimal risk and do not warrant an extensive permitting process. This measure is intended to streamline the process for property owners while ensuring compliance with safety and floodplain management standards by creating certain exemptions from building permit requirements. However, your Committee notes the concerns raised in testimony by the Department of Land and Natural Resources that certain exemptions proposed by this measure may be inconsistent with the National Flood Insurance Program, which may have unintended consequences.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that certain activities are exempt from obtaining any county permit, rather than only a county building permit, when located in areas outside of a special management area;

(2) Requiring an owner or occupier who intends to perform any interior remodeling work on an existing structure to submit written notification to the appropriate county agency;

(3) Specifying that the authority granted under this measure shall not be construed to exempt any new or existing buildings, structures, related appurtenances, or other work from underlying zoning requirements;

(4) Changing the effective date to January 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 367, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 367, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

____________________________

LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair