HB1721 • 2026

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Housing

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: EVSLIN, MIYAKE
Last action: 2026-05-07
Official status: Transmitted to Governor.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

RELATING TO HOUSING.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO HOUSING.
Expedited Permits; Insurance; Additional Insureds; Indemnification; Certificates of Occupancy Clarifies insurance, indemnification, and certain certificate of occupancy requirements for purposes of expedited permits.
Requires state or county inspectors to inspect all projects with expedited permits.
Repeals 6/30/2031.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

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

CD1

Hawaii published version CD1

Plain English: HB1721 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1721 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1721 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB1721 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1721 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1721 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING .

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: HB1721 HD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1721 HD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1721 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING .

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: HB1721 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1721 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1721 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

SD2

Hawaii published version SD2

Plain English: HB1721 SD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1721 SD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1721 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
2 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

Bill History

2026-05-08 S
Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888).
2026-05-07 H
Transmitted to Governor.
2026-05-06 H
Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
2026-05-05 H
Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 814).
2026-05-01 S
Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Fukunaga).
2026-05-01 H
Deferred one day 05-06-26.
2026-04-29 S
48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-01-26
2026-04-29 S
Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 16-26).
2026-04-29 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 05-01-26.
2026-04-29 H
Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 16-26) as amended in (CD 1).
2026-04-24 S
The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, Keohokalole; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.
2026-04-24 H
The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Matayoshi, Tarnas, Cochran; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-04-23 H
Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 04-24-26 10:10AM in conference room 224.
2026-04-22 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 719).
2026-04-21 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: Wakai Chair; Chang, Keohokalole Co-Chairs; Fevella.
2026-04-21 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 799).
2026-04-21 H
House Conferees Appointed: Evslin, Matayoshi, Tarnas Co-Chairs; Cochran.
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. 613) in amended form (SD 2).
2026-04-14 S
Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-10 S
48 Hrs. Notice 04-14-26.
2026-04-10 S
Reported from CPN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3715) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2).
2026-04-07 S
The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in CPN were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fukunaga, Lamosao, McKelvey; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa.
2026-04-02 S
The committee(s) on CPN will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 9:25AM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-25 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to CPN.
2026-03-25 S
Reported from EIG/HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3198) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPN.
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: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Elefante, Rhoads, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
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: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, DeCoite, Richards, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-03-16 S
The committee(s) on EIG/HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-19-26 3:02PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.
2026-03-12 S
Referred to EIG/HOU, CPN.
2026-03-12 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-12 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 270).
2026-03-10 H
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Kong, Pierick excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1196-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-05 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Hashem, Sayama.
2026-03-03 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 03-05-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-20 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).
2026-02-20 H
Reported from CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 681-26), recommending referral to JHA.
2026-02-18 H
The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Grandinetti, Chun, Ilagan, Iwamoto, Kong, Marten, Tam, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Ichiyama, Lowen.
2026-02-13 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Wednesday, 02-18-26 2:00PM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-10 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
2026-02-09 H
Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 110-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.
2026-02-04 H
The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Cochran, Grandinetti, Kila, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kitagawa.
2026-01-30 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG on Wednesday, 02-04-26 9:00AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-26 H
Referred to HSG, CPC, JHA, referral sheet 1
2026-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-20 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO HOUSING.
Expedited Permits; Insurance; Additional Insureds; Indemnification; Certificates of Occupancy
Clarifies insurance, indemnification, and certain certificate of occupancy requirements for purposes of expedited permits. Requires state or county inspectors to inspect all projects with expedited permits. Repeals 6/30/2031. (CD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB1721

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1721

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.
�
The legislature finds that, to address the
State's ongoing housing shortage, Act 295, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025 (Act
295), established an expedited permitting process for single
‑
family
and multi
‑
family residential projects.
�
However, since its implementation,
stakeholders have raised concerns that ambiguities in Act 295 regarding
additional insured requirements, indemnification obligations, and certification
language may inadvertently create uninsurable conditions, discouraging
architects and engineers from participating in the expedited permitting process.

����
The legislature believes that
clarifying these provisions will ensure that design professionals are not
required to assume liabilities beyond what their professional liability
insurance can cover, thereby improving participation and supporting the State's
broader goal of accelerating housing production.

����
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act
is to clarify certain provisions under Act 295 relating to insurance, indemnification,
and certain certificate of occupancy requirements for purposes of expedited
permits.

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 46-90,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection as follows:

����
1.
�

By amending subsection (b) to read:

����
"
(b)
�
An applicant or the applicant's agent may
submit a request to the county for an expedited permit if sixty business days
have lapsed after the application was considered complete by the relevant
agency and the application has not received full approval by the county.
�
The request by the applicant or the
applicant's agent shall include:

����
(1)
�
A full and
complete set of plans;

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(2)
�
Statements or
evidence from the relevant permitting agencies that adequate infrastructure
capacity is available to service the project site and specified improvements;

����
(3)
�
The following
information from all licensed professionals on record:

���������
(A)
�
Policies of
insurance that:

�������������
(i)
�
Name the State and
county as additional insurers[
;
]
for general liability insurance;

������������
(ii)
�
Are in amounts
equivalent to at least $2,000,000; and

�����������
(iii)
�
Specifically allow
coverage for the completed project for the period under section 657-8; and

���������
(B)
�
A statement that
indemnifies and holds harmless the State, its officers, agents, and employees
and the county, its officers, agents, and employees[
;
]
from and
against claims, damages, losses, and expenses, including attorney's fees, arising
out of or resulting from the negligent acts, errors, or omissions of the
licensed professional;

����
(4)
�
A statement that
sixty business days have lapsed without approval since the application would
have been considered complete by the relevant agency; and

����
(5)
�
The required
county contractor's statement."

�����
2.
�

By amending subsection (f) to read:

����
"
(f)
�
Upon completion of construction, the [
licensed
professional shall certify in writing to the county that a certificate of
occupancy is warranted and all laws, rules, ordinances, and conditions
governing permitted construction have been met, along with any necessary
as-built drawings consistent with the requirements of each county.
�
The
] county shall issue [
the
]
a

certificate
of occupancy
to the applicant and may notate that the
certificate is approved by the licensed professional under an agreement
pursuant to an expedited permit, and not a county official."

����
SECTION 3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026,
and shall be repealed on June 30, 2031.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Expedited
Permits; Insurance; Additional Insureds; Indemnification; Certificates of
Occupancy

Description:

Clarifies insurance, indemnification, and certain certificate
of occupancy requirements for purposes of expedited permits.

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