RELATING TO HOUSING.

Housing

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY, AMATO, BELATTI, EVSLIN, GRANDINETTI, ILAGAN, IWAMOTO, KILA, KUSCH, LOWEN, MARTEN, MIYAKE, MORIKAWA, OLDS, POEPOE, TAKAYAMA, TAM, TARNAS, TODD
Last action: 2026-04-21
Official status: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 799).
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details about the expedited permit process or reporting requirements.

Housing Projects for People with Disabilities

This bill allows housing projects for people with disabilities and those with access and functional needs to apply for expedited permits, requires reports to the Legislature, and will be repealed in 2031.

What This Bill Does

Adds housing projects for individuals with disabilities and those with access and functional needs as eligible for expedited permit applications.
Requires reports about these housing projects to be sent to the Legislature.
Repeals the law on June 30, 2031.

Who It Names or Affects

People with disabilities and individuals with access and functional needs who need special accommodations in their homes.
Counties that issue permits for housing projects.

Terms To Know

Expedited permit: A faster process to get approval for building or changing a home.
Access and functional needs: People who need extra help, support, or changes to use programs, services, or facilities due to health, age, language, transportation, or financial reasons.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how the expedited permit process will work.
It is unclear what kind of reports are required and when they must be submitted.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment adds housing projects for individuals with disabilities and those with access and functional needs to the list of eligible projects that can apply for expedited permits.

Expands eligibility for expedited permit approval to include single-family, multi-family, and disability-focused housing projects.
Defines 'individuals with access and functional needs' as people who may require additional assistance or modifications due to age, limited English proficiency, transportation issues, or financial constraints.

The amendment specifies a future effective date of July 1, 3000, which seems unusual and might be an error in the text.
It includes a repeal date of June 30, 2031, but it's unclear why this is included.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: This amendment adds housing projects for individuals with disabilities and those with access and functional needs to the list of eligible projects for expedited permits in Hawaii.

Expands eligibility for expedited permit approval to include single-family, multi-family, and disability-focused housing projects.
Defines 'individuals with access and functional needs' as people who may require additional assistance due to age, limited English proficiency, transportation issues, or financial constraints.

The amendment specifies that the Act will be repealed on June 30, 2031, which is unclear why such a long-term repeal date was chosen.
It's not clear what specific actions counties must take to comply with the requirements for expedited permits.

Bill History

2026-04-21 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 799).
2026-04-21 H
House Conferees Appointed: Evslin, Hashem, Tarnas Co-Chairs; Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Pierick.
2026-04-17 S
Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780).
2026-04-16 H
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
2026-04-14 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 605) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-04-14 S
Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-10 S
One Day Notice 04-14-26.
2026-04-10 S
Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3747) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
2026-04-07 S
The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa.
2026-04-01 S
The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.
2026-03-25 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC.
2026-03-25 S
Reported from EIG/HHS/HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3200) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.
2026-03-19 S
The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, McKelvey, Kanuha; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fevella.
2026-03-19 S
The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Elefante, Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.
2026-03-19 S
The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EIG were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, Richards; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) DeCoite, Fevella.
2026-03-16 S
The committee(s) on EIG/HHS/HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-19-26 1:05PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
2026-03-10 S
Referred to EIG/HHS/HOU, JDC.
2026-03-10 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-10 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 148).
2026-03-06 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso, Quinlan, Sayama excused (3). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 988-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-02-26 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Cochran.
2026-02-24 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 02-26-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-11 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Holt excused (1).
2026-02-11 H
Reported from HSG/WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 176-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
2026-02-06 H
The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Shimizu; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-02-06 H
The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Cochran, Grandinetti, Kila, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-02-03 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG/WAL on Friday, 02-06-26 8:45AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-26 H
Referred to HSG/WAL, JHA, referral sheet 1
2026-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-20 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO HOUSING.
Counties; Individuals with Disabilities; Access and Functional Needs; Housing Projects; Expedited Permits; Reports
Includes housing projects for individuals with disabilities and individuals with access and functional needs as eligible projects to apply for expedited permits. Requires reports to the Legislature. Repeals 6/30/2031. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB1700

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1700

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to housing
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section 46-90,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending its title and subsection (a) to
read as follows:

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"
[
[
]�46-90[
]
]
�
Expedited permits; single-family [
and
]
;

multi-family
; individuals with disabilities and individuals with access and
functional needs;
housing [
project
]
projects;
permit
applications; review time eligibility.
�

(a)
�
Permit applications for
single-family and multi-family housing projects
and housing projects for
individuals with disabilities and individuals with access and functional needs

in each county shall be eligible for an expedited permit approval pursuant to
this section.

����
For purposes of this subsection:

����
"Disability" has the
same meaning as in section 515-2.

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"Individual with access and
functional needs" means a person who, whether temporarily or permanently,
may require additional assistance, accommodations, support, or modifications to
access, use, or benefit from programs, services, or facilities due to needs in
functional areas such as maintaining health, independence, communication,
transportation, support services, self-determination, or medical care.
�
"Individual with access and functional
needs" includes those:

����
(1)
�
Who are
sixty-two years of age or older;

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(2)
�
With limited
English proficiency;

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(3)
�
With limited
access to transportation; and

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(4)
�
With limited
financial resources.
"

����
SECTION 2.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 2, 2026,
and shall be repealed on June 30, 2031.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Individuals
with Disabilities; Access and Functional Needs; Housing Projects; Expedited
Permits

Description:

Includes
housing projects for individuals with disabilities and individuals with access
and functional needs as eligible projects to apply for expedited permits.
�
Effective 7/2/2026.
�
Repeals on 6/30/2031.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.