HB199 • 2026

RELATING TO THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY.

Housing

Active

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

Sponsor: ICHIYAMA
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about updating the law to include all parcels owned by HPHA. This claim was removed due to lack of supporting evidence in the provided text.

Rules for Closing Hawaii Public Housing Areas

This bill allows the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to close certain areas owned by them to the public, with specific signage requirements.

What This Bill Does

Allows the Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) to close parking areas and vacant land parcels to the public if they display signs that say 'Closed to the Public - No Trespassing'.
Requires these signs to be at least two inches tall and placed every three signs per mile along property boundaries.
Permits HPHA offices and facilities to also be closed to the public during non-business hours with similar signage, including operating hours.

Who It Names or Affects

The Hawaii Public Housing Authority
People who live in or visit public housing properties

Terms To Know

Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA): A government agency that manages and maintains public housing projects.
Trespassing: The act of entering or remaining on someone else's property without permission.

Limits and Unknowns

This bill does not specify what happens if people ignore the signs and enter closed areas.
It is unclear how this law will be enforced in practice.
The effective date for this act is set very far into the future (July 1, 3000), which may indicate it's a placeholder or needs further review.

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment allows the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to close certain areas, including parcels it owns, to the public under specific conditions.

Adds provisions allowing the authority to close non-public street and road areas within housing projects or on parcels owned by the authority if signs stating 'Closed to the Public - No Trespassing' are displayed.
Specifies that these signs must be at least two inches in height and placed at reasonable intervals along boundaries and entrances.
Includes provisions for closing authority offices and facilities to the public during non-business hours with appropriate signage.

The amendment specifies an effective date of July 1, 3000, which seems unusual and may be a placeholder or error.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-11 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) Cochran, Ward excused (2).
2025-02-11 H
Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 412) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
2025-02-05 H
The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Grandinetti, Kila, Kitagawa, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, La Chica, Pierick.
2025-01-31 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG on Wednesday, 02-05-25 9:00AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to HSG, JHA, referral sheet 1
2025-01-16 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-15 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY.
HPHA; Public Housing; Public Closure; Offices and Facilities; Trespassing
Includes any parcels owned by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority as areas that may be closed to the public. Specifies required signage. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB199

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

199

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to the hawaii public housing authority
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�

The legislature finds that parking areas and vacant land parcels
under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii public housing authority are places where
incidents of vandalism and other types of property damage often occurs.
�
In addition, residents of public housing are often
forced to cope with litter, trash, and excessive noise in the parking areas of
public housing.
�
These unsanitary circumstances
and nuisances are often times caused by persons who do not actually reside at
the public housing facility.
�
The legislature
further finds that closing certain problem areas to the public, coupled with
appropriate signage and empowerment of law enforcement to police violators will
better enable the Hawaii public housing authority to mitigate or eliminate
these concerns.

����
The
purpose of this Act is to expressly provide conditions under which all parcels
under the
jurisdiction of the
Hawaii public housing authority and authority offices and facilities may be
closed to the public so that trespassing violations may be prosecuted as
criminal trespass in the second degree.

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section
356D-6.7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

����
"
[
[
]�356D-6.7[
]
]
�
Closed to the
public.

�
(a)
�
Any area within a housing project
or on a parcel
owned by the authority
that is not a public street, road, highway,
sidewalk, or county or state bus stop, shall be closed to the public where
signs are displayed that read:
�

"Closed to the Public � No Trespassing", or a substantially
similar message; provided that the signs:

����
(1)
�
Contain letters no
less than two inches in height; and

����
(2)
�
Are placed at
reasonable intervals no less than three signs to a mile along the boundary line
of the areas that are closed to the public and at all entrances to the
property, in a manner and position to be clearly noticeable from outside the
boundary line.

����
(b)
�
Any authority office or facility shall be
closed to the public during non-business hours where signs are displayed that
read:
�
"Closed to the Public � No
Trespassing"
or a
substantially similar message
and include hours of operation.

����
[
(b)
]
(c)

�
For the purposes of this section[
:

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"Housing project"
]
,
"housing project"
means a public housing project, elder or
elderly housing, as defined in section 356D-1, or state low-income housing
project, as defined in section 356D-51."

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

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

HPHA; Public
Housing; Public Closure; Offices and Facilities; Trespassing

Description:

Includes any
parcels owned by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority as areas that may be
closed to the public.
�
Specifies required
signage.

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