HB2171 • 2026

RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.

Land

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor: WOODSON, AMATO, EVSLIN, ILAGAN, KAHALOA, KAPELA, KILA, KUSCH, LOWEN, MARTEN, MATSUMOTO, OLDS, POEPOE, REYES ODA, SOUZA, TAKAYAMA, TAM, TARNAS, TEMPLO
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 THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.
UH; Enterprise-Related Activities; Counties; Zoning Authorizes the University of Hawaii to engage in enterprise-related activities for educational purposes and exempts such activity from certain county zoning requirements, under certain circumstances.
(CD1)

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: HB2171 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2171 CD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2171 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB2171 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2171 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2171 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII .

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: HB2171 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2171 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2171 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 H
Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Iwamoto, Pierick voting no (2) and none excused (0).
2026-05-06 S
Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.
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. 107-26).
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. 107-26) as amended in (CD 1).
2026-04-29 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) Kim, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-04-29 H
The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Hashem, Templo, Woodson, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-04-28 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Wednesday 04-29-26 3:10PM in conference room 229.
2026-04-27 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 3:15PM in conference room 229.
2026-04-24 H
Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Monday, 04-27-26 3:15PM in conference room 229.
2026-04-24 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 820).
2026-04-23 H
House Conferees Appointed: Garrett, Hashem, Templo Co-Chairs; Woodson, Muraoka.
2026-04-22 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 719).
2026-04-21 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: Kim Chair; Hashimoto Co-Chair; DeCorte.
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. 548) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-04-10 S
Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). 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. 3640) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
2026-04-06 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, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..
2026-04-01 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-06-26 10:32AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-03-23 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2026-03-23 S
Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3138) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2026-03-17 S
The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Fukunaga.
2026-03-12 S
The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-16-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-10 S
Referred to EDU, WAM.
2026-03-06 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-06 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 87).
2026-03-05 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Iwamoto, Pierick voting no (2) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-05 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 808-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-02-25 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-02-23 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Wednesday, 02-25-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-19 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and none excused (0).
2026-02-19 H
Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 541-26), recommending referral to FIN.
2026-02-17 H
The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Shimizu; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Iwamoto; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Poepoe.
2026-02-11 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Tuesday, 02-17-26 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-11 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) Holt excused (1).
2026-02-11 H
Reported from HED (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 131-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.
2026-02-06 H
The committee on HED recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Kila, La Chica, Olds, Woodson, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-02-03 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HED on Friday, 02-06-26 2:05PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-30 H
Referred to HED, WAL, FIN, referral sheet 5
2026-01-28 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-26 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.
UH; Enterprise-Related Activities; Counties; Zoning
Authorizes the University of Hawaii to engage in enterprise-related activities for educational purposes and exempts such activity from certain county zoning requirements, under certain circumstances. (CD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2171

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2171

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to the University of hawaii
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that hands-on,
real-world experience is a critical component of higher education, particularly
in fields such as hospitality, agriculture, culinary arts, and business
management.
�
To provide this essential
training, the university of Hawaii must be able to operate "teaching
laboratories," facilities that function as active businesses to give
students practical experience in their chosen careers.

����
The
legislature further finds that these educational laboratories often mimic
commercial enterprises in their operations, such as teaching hotels or culinary
centers.
�
Consequently, these facilities
can face regulatory hurdles at the county level, where zoning codes and
requirements for special use permits, designed for commercial entities, are
applied to educational institutions.
�
For
example, the university of Hawaii Maui college's hospitality academy seeks to
operate a limited number of guest rooms for student training but faces zoning
challenges regarding the collection of fees and the requirement for special use
permits.

����
The
legislature determines that the educational mission of the university of Hawaii
is a matter of statewide concern. Subjecting university educational programs to
varying county zoning ordinances and discretionary permit processes hinders the
development of necessary workforce training programs.

����
The purpose of this Act is to authorize the
university of Hawaii to engage in enterprise-related activities that have an
educational nexus on its campuses statewide, notwithstanding county zoning laws
or requirements for special use permits.

����
SECTION
2.
�
Chapter 304A, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:

����
"
�304A-
��
��
Enterprise-related activities;
educational nexus; exemption from county regulation.
�
(a) Notwithstanding any law, county
ordinance, or county zoning regulation to the contrary, the university of
Hawaii may engage in enterprise-related activities on any lands under its
control, provided that the activity has a demonstrable educational nexus.

����
(b)
�
For the purposes of this section, an
"educational nexus" exists when the enterprise-related activity:

����
(1)
�
Is integrated into a credit-bearing
curriculum, certificate program, or workforce development program offered by
the university;

����
(2)
�
Provides practical, hands-on
training or research opportunities for students; and

����
(3)
�
Is conducted primarily for
educational purposes rather than solely for profit.

����
(c)
�
Activities authorized under this section
shall be exempt from county zoning ordinances, land use restrictions, and
requirements for special use permits, conditional use permits, or similar
county-level land use approvals.

����
(d)
�
Authorized enterprise-related activities may
include:

����
(1)
�
Hospitality training laboratories,
including the operation of guest rooms and the collection of lodging fees;
provided that the hospitality training laboratories are used to train students
in hospitality, tourism, or business management;

����
(2)
�
Culinary, agricultural, or retail
operations that sell goods or services produced by university programs; and

����
(3)
�
Other training facilities as
designated by the board of regents.

����
(e)
�
Any revenue generated by these activities
shall be retained by the university program operating the activity to defray
costs, maintain facilities, or support student scholarships.

����
(f)
�
While exempt from zoning permits, these
facilities shall remain subject to applicable state health and safety codes
and, where applicable, general excise and transient accommodations taxes.
"

����
SECTION
3.
�
New statutory material is
underscored.

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

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

UH;
Enterprise-Related Activities

Description:

Authorizes
the University of Hawaii to engage in enterprise-related activities for
educational purposes.

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