STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1488

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 66

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 66, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require permits to be issued by applicable permitting agencies within sixty days of a complete application being filed for certain single-family and multi-family housing projects if certain conditions are satisfied; and

(2) Automatically deem a completed permit approved if the applicable permitting agency has not approved the permit within sixty days, except under certain circumstances.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Maui Chamber of Commerce; Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS; Hawaii Food Industry Association; Hawaii YIMBY; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; RMA Sales; Pacific Resource Partnership; and one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu; Department of Public Works of the County of Hawai‘i; and Lāhainā Strong. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and Hawaii Iron Workers Stabilization Fund.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's ongoing housing shortage requires immediate action, as a key barrier to meeting the State's housing demand is the prolonged building permit approval process, which significantly delays development, increases costs, and discourages investment in new housing projects. Unlike other jurisdictions where compliance is verified during inspections, Hawaii's extensive pre-construction review process adds unnecessary bottlenecks, hindering efforts to expand residential infrastructure. To address this issue, this measure mandates the issuance of building permits within sixty days for certain single-family and multi-family projects that meet established criteria, ensuring a more efficient permitting process while maintaining compliance with zoning and infrastructure standards.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that a complete application contains a full and complete plan and inserting a definition for "full and complete plans";

(2) Allowing the sixty-day review period to be paused if the county deems the application is not complete or requires additional information from the applicant, or if the applicant is revising the applicant's submitted plans based on recommendations from the applicable planning agency;

(3) Requiring that a permit be deemed approved if the applicant submits full and complete plans and agrees to all recommendations from the applicable planning agency;

(4) Clarifying when an application shall not be deemed approved if no approval has been granted within sixty days after the application was filed;

(5) Inserting a sunset date of June 30, 2030;

(6) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; 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 Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 66, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 66, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

____________________________

MARK J. HASHEM, Chair