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HB581 • 2026

RELATING TO HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.

RELATING TO HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.

Agriculture Budget Housing
Active

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

Sponsor
HOLT, EVSLIN, GARCIA, KAHALOA, LEE, M., LOWEN, MARTEN, MIYAKE, MORIKAWA, POEPOE, SAYAMA, SOUZA, TAKAYAMA, TODD
Last action
2025-12-08
Official status
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify how many housing units will be built with this funding.

Funding for New Housing Units for Native Hawaiians

This bill provides funding to build new housing units for native Hawaiians on Hawaiian home lands.

What This Bill Does

  • Appropriates $100 million each year from the state budget for two years to help build homes for native Hawaiians.
  • The money must be used by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) to construct new housing units.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Native Hawaiians who are waiting for homes on Hawaiian home lands
  • The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) which will use the funds to build new housing units

Terms To Know

Hawaiian Home Lands
Land set aside by law in 1920 for native Hawaiians to live on and farm.
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL)
The state agency responsible for managing the land designated for native Hawaiians.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It is not clear how many new housing units will be built with this funding.
  • This bill does not address other issues related to Hawaiian home lands, such as existing criticisms of the program.

Bill History

  1. 2025-12-08 D

    Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.

  2. 2025-01-21 H

    Referred to HSG, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 2

  3. 2025-01-21 H

    Introduced and Pass First Reading.

  4. 2025-01-17 H

    Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.
DHHL; New Construction; Appropriations ($)
Appropriates moneys to the department of Hawaiian home lands for new construction of housing units for native Hawaiians.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB581

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

581

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to hawaiian home lands
.

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

����
SECTION
1.
�
The history of Hawaiian home lands is
marked by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, (HHCA) which was signed into
law in 1921 by President Warren G. Harding.
�

The idea for Hawaiian home lands began in 1893 after the overthrow of
the Hawaiian Kingdom.
�
Prince Jonah Kuhio
Kalanianaole and other advocates led the effort to pass the HHCA.

����
The HHCA
was intended to help native Hawaiians become self‑sufficient by returning
them to the land and providing them with homesteads.
�
The HHCA set aside about 200,000 acres of
land for the Hawaiian home lands trust.
�

This land is located on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai,
Oahu, and Kauai.
�
When Hawaii became a
state in 1959, Congress transferred title of the Hawaiian home lands trust to
the State.

����
The State
administers the Hawaiian home lands trust through the department of Hawaiian
home lands (DHHL).
�
In the decades since
the inception of the HHCA, there has been much criticism of the program, mostly
due to lack of housing units as evidenced by the over 28,000‑member‑long
waitlist.
�
In 2022, the legislature took
its most aggressive approach to reduce the waitlist and appropriated an
historic amount of funding totaling $600,000,000.

����
DHHL has
been very diligent in efforts to maximize these funds and is on track to build more
than six thousand units with the $600,000,000 that has been appropriated.
�
Although this is an amazing feat, the
department still has the task of building more units and getting more native
Hawaiians back on their land as intended by Prince Kuhio.
�
The current DHHL administration has shown
considerable ability to fulfill this task as they are ready and capable to add
thousands of additional units, subject to funding by the legislature.

����
The
legislature finds that it is of utmost importance to fulfill our
responsibilities under the HHCA and intends to provide appropriate funding to
realize the mission of Prince Kuhio and return native Hawaiians back to their
ancestral lands.

����
SECTION
2.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $100,000,000 or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so
much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for new construction
of housing units for native Hawaiians.

����
The sums

appropriated shall be expended by the department
of Hawaiian home lands for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DHHL; New
Construction; Appropriations

Description:

Appropriates
moneys to the department of Hawaiian home lands for new construction of housing
units for native Hawaiians.

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