RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL LANDS.

HB1828

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1828

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

Relating
to Agricultural Lands
.

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

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SECTION
1
.
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Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

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"(a)
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Within the agricultural district, all lands
with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as
overall (master) productivity rating class A or B and for solar energy
facilities, class B or C, shall be restricted to the following permitted uses:

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(1)
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Cultivation of crops, including crops for bioenergy, flowers,
vegetables, foliage, fruits, forage, and timber;

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(2)
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Game and fish propagation;

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(3)
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Raising of livestock, including poultry, bees, fish, or other
animal or aquatic life that are propagated for economic or personal use;

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(4)
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Farm dwellings, employee housing, farm buildings, or activities or
uses related to farming and animal husbandry.
�

For the purposes of this paragraph, "farm dwelling" means a
single-family dwelling located on and accessory to a farm, including clusters
of single‑family farm dwellings permitted within agricultural parks
developed by the State,
where the agricultural activity meets the definition
of a farming operation under section 165-2 and is conducted on more than fifty
per cent of the entire lot,
or where agricultural activity pro
vides [
income
] to the family occupying the
dwelling[
;
]
:

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(A)
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Not less than $30,000 in income per year as determined by the:

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(i)
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Family's
state general excise tax return; or

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(ii)
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Agricultural
dedication for the parcel or lot approved by the county in which the dwelling
and agricultural activity are located; or

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(B)
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Not less than twenty per cent of the family's total gross
household income as determined by the family's state income tax return filing;

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provided that the
tax filer for the family consents to disclosure requirements under section
237-34(b); provided further that the department of taxation may prescribe the
manner in which the consent for disclosure is made;

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(5)
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Public institutions and buildings that are necessary for
agricultural practices;

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(6)
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Public and private open area types of recreational uses, including
day camps, picnic grounds, parks, and riding stables, but not including
dragstrips, airports, drive-in theaters, golf courses, golf driving ranges,
country clubs, and overnight camps; provided that overnight camps in operation
before January 1, 1961, may be approved by special permit;

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(7)
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Public, private, and quasi-public utility lines and r
oadways, transformer stations, communications
equipment buildings, solid waste transfer stations, major water storage tanks,
and appurtenant small buildings such as booster pumping stations, but not
including offices or yards for equipment, material, vehicle storage, repair or
maintenance, treatment plants, corporation yards, or other similar structures;

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(8)
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Retention, restoration, rehabilitation, or improvement of buildings
or sites of historic or scenic interest;

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(9)
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Agricultural-based commercial operations as described in section
205-2(d)(15);

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(10)
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Buildings and uses, including mills, s
torage, and processing facilities, maintenance
facilities,
photovoltaic,
biogas, and other small-scale renewable energy
systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities
of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, and vehicle and equipment
storage areas that are normally considered directly accessory to the
above-mentioned uses and are permitted under section 205-2(d);

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(11)
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Agricultural parks;

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(12)
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Plantation community subdivisions, which as used in this chapter
means an established subdivision or cluster of employee housing, community
buildings, and agricultural support buildings on land currently or formerly
owned, leased, or operated by a sugar or pineapple plantation; provided that
the existing structures may be used or rehabilitated for use, and new employee
housing and agricultural support buildings may be allowed on land within the
subdivision as follows:

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(A)
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The employee housing is occupied by employees
or former employees of the plantation who have a property interest in the land;

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(B)
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The employee housing units not owned by their
occupants shall be rented or leased at affordable rates for agricultural
workers; or

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(C)
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The agricultural support buildings shall be
rented or leased to agricultural business operators or agricultural support
services;

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(13)
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Agricultural tourism
conducted on a working farm, or a
farming

operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or
involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is
accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not
interfere with surrounding farm operations; provided further that this
paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating
agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

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(14)
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Agricultural
tourism activities, including overnight accommodations
of twenty-one
days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that
this paragraph shall apply only to a
county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances
regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided
further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide
agricultural activity.
�
For the purposes
of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming
operation as defined in section 165-2;

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(15)
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Wind
energy facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production
and transmission of wind generated energy; provided that the wind energy
facilities and appurtenances are compatible with agriculture uses and cause
minimal adverse impact on agricultural land;

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(16)
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Biofuel processing facilities, including the appurtenances associated
with the production and refining of biofuels that is normally considered
directly accessory and secondary to the growing of the energy feedstock;
provided that b
iofuel processing facilities and appurtenances do not
adversely impact agricultural land and other agricultural uses in the vicinity.

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For the purposes of this
paragraph:

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"Appurtenances"
means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for economic
commercial storage and distribution, and other similar handling of feedstock,
fuels, and other products of biofuel processing facilities.

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"Biofuel processing
facility" means a facility that produces liquid or gaseous fuels from
organic sources such as biomass crops, agricultural residues, and oil crops,
including palm, canola, soybean, and waste cooking oils; grease; food wastes;
and animal residues and wastes that can be used to generate energy;

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(17)
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Agricultural-energy facilities, including appurtenances necessary
for an agricultural-energy enterprise; provided that the primary activity of
the agricultural-energy enterprise is agricultural activity.
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To be considered the primary activity of an
agricultural-energy enterprise, the total acreage devoted to agricultural
activity shall be no less than ninety per cent of the total acreage of the
agricultural-energy enterprise.
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The
agricultural-energy facility shall be limited to lands owned, leased, licensed,
or operated by the entity conducting the agricultural activity.

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As used in this
paragraph:

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"Agricultural
activity" means any activity described in paragraphs (1) to (3) of this
subsection.

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"Agricultural-energy
enterprise" means an enterprise that integrally incorporates an
agricultural activity with an agricultural-energy facility.

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"Agricultural-energy
facility" means a facility that generates, stores, or distributes
renewable energy as defined in section 269-91 or renewable fuel including
electrical or thermal energy or liquid or gaseous fuels from products of
agricultural activities from agricultural lands located in the State.

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"Appurtenances"
means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for the
economic commercial generation, storage, distribution, and other similar
handling of energy, including equipment, feedstock, fuels, and other products
of agricultural‑energy facilities;

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(18)
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Construction and operation of wireless communication antennas, including
small wireless facilities; provided that, for the purposes of this paragraph,
"wireless communication antenna" means communications equipment that
is either freestanding or placed upon or attached to an already existing
structure and that transmits and receives electromagnetic radio signals used in
the provision of all types of wireless communications services;
provided further that "small wireless
facilities" shall have the same meaning as in section 206N-2;
provided further that nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to permit the construction of any new structure that is not
deemed a permitted use under this subsection
;

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(19)
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Agricultural
education programs conducted on a farming operation as defined in section
165-2, for the education and participation of the general public; provided that
the agricultural education programs are accessory and secondary to the
principal agricultural use of the parcels or lots on which the agricultural
education programs are to occur and do not interfere with surrounding farm
operations.
�
For the purposes of this
paragraph, "agricultural education programs" means activities or
events designed to promote knowledge and understanding of agricultural
activities and practices conducted on a farming operation as defined in section
165-2;

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(20)
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S
olar
energy facilities that do not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of
the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser or for which a special
use permit is granted pursuant to section 205‑6;
provided that this use shall not be
permitted on
lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's
detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;

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(21)
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Solar energy
facilities on lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed
land classification as overall (master) productivity rating B or C for which a
special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6; provided that:

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(A)
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The area occupied
by the solar energy facilities is also made available for compatible
agricultural activities at a lease rate that is at least fifty per cent below
the fair market rent for comparable properties;

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(B)
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Proof of financial
security to decommission the facility is provided to the satisfaction of the
appropriate county planning commission before the date of commencement of
commercial generation; and

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(C)
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Solar energy
facilities shall be decommissioned at the owner's expense according to the
following requirements:

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(i)
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Removal of all
equipment related to the solar energy facility within twelve months of the
conclusion of operation or useful life; and

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(ii)
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Restoration of the
disturbed earth to substantially the same physical condition as existed before
the development of the solar energy facility.

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For the purposes of this
paragraph, "agricultural activities" means the activities described
in paragraphs (1) to (3);

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(22)
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Geothermal
resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under
section 182-1;

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(23)
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Hydroelectric
facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and
transmission of hydroelectric energy, subject to section 205-2; provided that
the hydroelectric facilities and their appurtenances:

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(A)
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Shall consist of a
small hydropower facility as defined by the United States Department of Energy,
including:

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(i)
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Impoundment
facilities using a dam to store water in a reservoir;

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(ii)
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A diversion or
run-of-river facility that channels a portion of a river through a canal or
channel; and

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(iii)
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Pumped storage
facilities that store energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir at higher
elevation from a reservoir at a lower elevation to be released to turn a
turbine to generate electricity;

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(B)
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Comply with the
state water code, chapter 174C;

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(C)
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Shall, if over
five hundred kilowatts in hydroelectric generating capacity, have the approval
of the commission on water resource management, including a new instream flow
standard established for any new hydroelectric facility; and

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(D)
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Do not impact or
impede the use of agricultural land or the availability of surface or ground
water for all uses on all parcels that are served by the ground water sources
or streams for which hydroelectric facilities are considered; or

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(24)
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Notwithstanding
any other law to the contrary, composting and co-composting operations;
provided that operations that process their own green waste and do not require
permits from the department of health shall use the finished composting product
only on the operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of
invasive species."

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

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

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DOTAX; Agricultural
Housing; Farm Dwelling; Agricultural Lands; Permissible Uses; Agricultural
Activity; Income Qualifications

Description:

For
purposes of permissible uses in agricultural districts, establishes minimum
requirements for income received from agricultural activity for a family
occupying a farm dwelling.
�
Provides that
the definition of a "farm dwelling" includes agricultural activity
that is considered a farming operation under section 165-2, HRS, and is
conducted on more than 50 per cent of the entire lot.

The summary description
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not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.