STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1273

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 66

S.D. 2

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 S.B. No. 66, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require counties to grant building permits for single-family and multi-family projects within sixty days if the completed application is stamped and certified by a licensed engineer and architect that all plans and specifications are compliant with applicable building codes.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS; Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters; NAIOP Hawaii; Maui Chamber of Commerce; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; Hawai‘i YIMBY; Building Industry Association of Hawaii; Hawaii Food Industry Association; and two individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu; Lāhāina Strong; Hawaii's Thousand Friends; Pele Lani Farm LLC; and one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; County of Hawai‘i Department of Public Works; and American Institute of Architects, Hawaii State Council, Legislative Advocacy Committee.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's prolonged building permit approval process significantly hinders housing development and contributes to high costs and delays. Establishing a streamlined permit process that shifts code compliance responsibility to licensed design professionals will reduce bureaucratic obstacles while maintaining safety and regulatory standards. This measure will help expedite the construction of much needed housing and address the State's ongoing housing shortage.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that a permit, rather than only a building permit, for certain single-family or multi-family projects shall be issued within sixty days of the filing of a complete application that contains plans and specifications in compliance with all relevant codes and standards of the respective county and removing the requirement that the application be stamped by an engineer and architect;

(2) Clarifying that the completed application must include a statement from the relevant permitting agency regarding the presence of adequate infrastructure capacity to service the project site;

(3) Requiring the counties to ensure that a project is in compliance with historic preservation requirements;

(4) Clarifying that noncompliance with state or county regulations, rather than a county's discretionary approvals, may delay the county's issuance of a building permit;

(5) Broadening the sixty day automatic approval timeline to include approval by the applicable permitting agency, not just the county;

(6) Authorizing the counties to establish rules; and

(7) 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 S.B. No. 66, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 66, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Water & Land.

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

____________________________

LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair