HB1802 • 2026

RELATING TO CONSERVATION MITIGATION BANKS.

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor: MARTEN, AMATO, BELATTI, GRANDINETTI, HASHEM, HUSSEY, ILAGAN, KAPELA, KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY, KUSCH, MATAYOSHI, PERRUSO, SHIMIZU, SOUZA, TAM, TARNAS
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 CONSERVATION MITIGATION BANKS.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO CONSERVATION MITIGATION BANKS.
DLNR; BLNR; Conservation Banks Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources and certain public or private entities to seek the approval of the Board of Land and Natural Resources to operate conservation banks for situations where a person or entity is required to provide compensatory mitigation to offset adverse impacts to threatened, endangered, candidate, or proposed species as part of an approved incidental take license and habitat conservation plan.
Adds the associate director of the United States Geological Survey, Ecosystem Mission Area, to the membership of the Endangered Species Recovery Committee.
Requires the Endangered Species Recovery Committee to review applications and proposals for conservation banks and conservation bank instruments conduct subsequent reviews and oversight.

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: HB1802 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1802 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1802 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB1802 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1802 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1802 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONSERVATION MITIGATION BANKS .

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: HB1802 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1802 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1802 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 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
Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816).
2026-05-06 S
Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none).
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).
2026-05-01 S
48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26
2026-05-01 S
Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 165-26).
2026-05-01 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26.
2026-05-01 H
Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 165-26) as amended in (CD 1).
2026-04-30 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) Lee, C., Inouye, Lamosao; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-04-30 H
The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Hashem, Perruso, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-04-29 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-30-26 10:10AM in conference room 325.
2026-04-28 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Wednesday 04-29-26 10:10AM in conference room 325.
2026-04-27 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 10:10AM in conference room 325.
2026-04-24 H
Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Monday, 04-27-26 10:10AM in conference room 325.
2026-04-23 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 725).
2026-04-22 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: Lee, C. Chairs; Inouye Co-Chair; Lamosao.
2026-04-20 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 786).
2026-04-20 H
House Conferees Appointed: Lowen, Hashem, Perruso Co-Chairs; Matsumoto.
2026-04-16 S
Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 599).
2026-04-14 H
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
2026-04-10 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 529) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-04-10 S
Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 22; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 3 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte, Fevella). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-09 S
One Day Notice 04-10-26.
2026-04-09 S
Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3642) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
2026-04-07 S
The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..
2026-04-02 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:31AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-03-30 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2026-03-30 S
Reported from WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3244) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2026-03-18 S
The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Chang, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-03-16 S
The committee(s) on WLA deferred the measure until 03-18-26 1:05PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.
2026-03-12 S
The committee(s) on WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 03-16-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.
2026-03-10 S
Referred to WLA, WAM.
2026-03-06 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-06 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 49).
2026-03-05 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-05 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 876-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-02 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.
2026-02-27 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Monday, 03-02-26 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-17 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lee, M., Poepoe excused (3).
2026-02-17 H
Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 336-26), recommending referral to FIN.
2026-02-12 H
The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-02-10 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Thursday, 02-12-26 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-04 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on WAL with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Kitagawa excused (1).
2026-02-04 H
Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 10-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.
2026-01-29 H
The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Kahaloa, Kusch, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Chun, Quinlan.
2026-01-26 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EEP on Thursday, 01-29-26 9:30AM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-26 H
Referred to EEP, WAL, FIN, referral sheet 1
2026-01-23 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-22 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO CONSERVATION MITIGATION BANKS.
DLNR; BLNR; Conservation Banks
Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources and certain public or private entities to seek the approval of the Board of Land and Natural Resources to operate conservation banks for situations where a person or entity is required to provide compensatory mitigation to offset adverse impacts to threatened, endangered, candidate, or proposed species as part of an approved incidental take license and habitat conservation plan. Adds the associate director of the United States Geological Survey, Ecosystem Mission Area, to the membership of the Endangered Species Recovery Committee. Requires the Endangered Species Recovery Committee to review applications and proposals for conservation banks and conservation bank instruments conduct subsequent reviews and oversight. (CD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB1802

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1802

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to conservation mitigation banks
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�

The legislature finds that
mitigation banks restore, create, enhance,
or preserve habitats or resources to recover the ecological functions,
services, and values of resources lost by adverse impacts to other similar
habitats.
�
By 2001, the federal
government and at least thirty-one states had developed successful mitigation
bank guidelines and programs.
�
Mitigation
banking has a number of advantages over traditional permittee-responsible
compensatory mitigation because of the ability of mitigation banking programs
to:

����
(1)
�
Reduce uncertainty about whether compensatory
mitigation will be successful in offsetting project impacts;

����
(2)
�
Assemble and apply extensive financial
resources, planning, and scientific expertise not always available to many
permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation proposals;

����
(3)
�
Reduce permit processing times and provide
more cost‑effective compensatory mitigation opportunities; and

����
(4)
�
Enable the efficient use of limited agency
resources in the review and compliance monitoring of compensatory mitigation
projects because of consolidation.

Mitigation banks would serve as a mechanism to
restore or replace resources and ecological functions of habitats either
prospectively or after they have been damaged.

����
The
purpose of this Act is to authorize the department of land and natural
resources to establish and operate conservation mitigation banks to restore,
create, enhance, or preserve species, their habitats, or resources as
compensatory mitigation where the issuance of an incidental take license
requires the licensee to provide mitigation as part of a habitat conservation
plan and the use of banked mitigation is approved by the agency requiring
mitigation, or for past damages to conservation habitats or resources.

����
SECTION
2.
�
The Hawaii Revised Statutes is
amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

"
Chapter

Conservation mitigation banks

����
� -1
�
Definitions.
�

As used in this chapter:

����
"Board"
means the board of land and natural resources.

����
"Conservation
mitigation bank" means a site established under a conservation mitigation
bank instrument approved by the department that is conserved and managed to
provide ecological functions and services expressed as credits for wildlife or
listed species.

����
"Conservation
mitigation bank instrument" means an interest in real property that
protects a conservation mitigation bank in perpetuity, such as a conservation
easement, deed restriction, condition, or covenant.

����
"Credit"
means a value based on defined units representing the accrual or attainment of
ecological functions or services at the conservation mitigation bank and
released as the conservation mitigation bank meets performance criteria.

����
"Department"
means the department of land and natural resources.

����
"Habitat
conservation plan" means a plan developed pursuant to sections 195D-4 and
195D-21.

����
"Incidental
take license" means a temporary license issued by the board as part of a
habitat conservation plan that allows take of a threatened or endangered
species that is incidental to and not the purpose of the carrying out of an
otherwise lawful activity.

����
"Wildlife"
means any non-domesticated member of the animal kingdom, whether reared in
captivity or not, including any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof,
except aquatic life as defined in section 195D-2.

����
� -2
�
Conservation

mitigation

banking
.
�
The
department may establish and operate conservation mitigation banks, the purpose
of which shall be to restore, create, enhance, or preserve species, their
habitats, or resources as compensatory mitigation where the issuance of an
incidental take license requires the licensee to provide mitigation as part of
a habitat conservation plan and the use of banked mitigation is approved by the
agency requiring mitigation, or for past damages to conservation habitats or
resources.

����
� -3
�
Conservation

mitigation

banking administrator.
�
The department may contract with a third-party administrator
that specializes in conservation mitigation banking to operate and manage the
conservation mitigation banks established pursuant to section
-2.

����
� -4
�
Conservation mitigation bank; sale of
credits.
�
(a)
�
A conservation mitigation bank
shall be established under a legal conservation mitigation bank instrument.

����
(b)
�
The department may sell credits generated
from listed-species conservation activities to incidental take licensees.

����
(c)
�

Third-party conversation mitigation bank administrators shall not be
required to own the parcel of land and may be authorized by the department to
sell
the credits.

����
� -5
�
Rules.
�

The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement
this chapter."

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DLNR;
Conservation Mitigation Banks

Description:

Authorizes
the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish and operate
conservation mitigation banks to restore, create, enhance, or preserve species,
their habitats, or resources as compensatory mitigation, or for past damages.
�
Authorizes the department to contract with a
third-party administrator for the operation of the conservation mitigation
banks.
�
Clarifies the sale of credits
involved in conservation mitigation banking.

The summary description
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not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.