STAND. COM. REP. NO. 133

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 456

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 456 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BED BUGS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit landlords, including those operating in public housing and educational dorm settings, from renting a dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation; and

(2) Establish procedures that landlords shall take upon receiving notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the University of Hawaiʻi System and one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Hawaii Public Housing Authority, Hawaii Pest Control Association, and Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS.

Your Committee finds that there has been a resurgence in the population of bed bugs in the United States. While bed bugs have not been shown to transmit disease, they can cause negative physical health, mental health, and economic consequences, including allergic reactions to bites, anxiety and insomnia, and the expenditure of financial resources to contain infestations. More than twenty states have laws or regulations specific to bed bugs. However, Hawaii's landlord-tenant laws do not explicitly address bed bugs. This measure ensures the maintenance of safe and sanitary rental dwelling units for healthier communities statewide.

Your Committee further notes that, according to testimony received by your Committee, there have been no reports of widespread bed bug infestations in certain dorm settings, and the Hawaii Public Housing Authority has standard operating procedures with regard to ensuring a unit is free and clear of bed bugs before the unit is provided to a new tenant. Furthermore, bed bugs are a community issue, as tenants may inadvertently introduce infestations into the dwelling unit. Placing the onus solely on landlords may be impractical, as cooperation and communication between landlords and tenants is critical to eradicating the presence of bed bugs. Additionally, the structure of this measure is overly complicated and may cause confusion and further legal disputes between tenants and landlords. Accordingly, specifying that a bed bug infestation is a violation of the implied warranty of habitability would more simply address the intent of this measure and extend necessary remedies.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have established a new section in chapter 521, Hawaii Revised Statutes to:

(A) Prohibit landlords, including those operating in public housing and educational dorm settings, from renting a dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation; and

(B) Establish procedures that landlords shall take upon receiving notice of an actual or suspected bed bug infestation;

(2) Inserting language that requires a landlord to ensure the premises is free of bed bugs at all times during the tenancy;

(3) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

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

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 S.B. No. 456, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 456, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

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STANLEY CHANG, Chair