RELATING TO THE COUNTIES.

SB2673

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2673

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO THE COUNTIES
.

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

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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds that the timely review
of building and civil engineering permits is critical to addressing the State's
housing shortage, enabling renewable energy projects, and supporting economic
development.

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The
legislature further finds that the governor's emergency proclamation on housing
and the subsequent findings of the simplifying permitting for enhanced economic
development task force have highlighted significant challenges in tracking
permitting performance.
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The task force's
building permit permitted interaction group found that counties use
incompatible data standards to represent permit status, key dates, valuations,
and categories, which complicates meaningful comparisons and shared
learning.
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The group further suggested
that the counties and the State work toward common data standards and reporting
templates for building permits, including more granular status categories that
distinguish delays attributable to applicants from delays attributable to
agencies.

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The
legislature finds that while some permit data is currently available, it is
often difficult to access or is provided in formats that do not allow for
routine aggregation, analysis, or cross-county comparison.
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Requiring counties to publish permit data in
a standardized, machine-readable format will reduce the administrative burden
of ad hoc information requests, support customer service improvements, and
foster transparency and accountability.

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Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to:

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(1)
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Establish a statewide permitting data
standard developed collaboratively by the office of planning and sustainable development
and the chief data officer in consultation with the counties; and

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(2)
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Require each county to publish monthly
updates of building and civil engineering permit data in accordance with that
standard.

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SECTION
2.
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Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding a new section to part V to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:

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"
�46-

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Publicly accessible permit data;
monthly updates; statewide standard.
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(a)
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Each county shall
host and maintain on its website a publicly accessible dataset containing data
on all building and civil engineering permit applications administered by the
county.

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(b)
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The dataset required by subsection (a) shall:

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(1)
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Be updated at least monthly;

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(2)
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Be published in a machine-readable
format, such as comma-separated values (CSV) or javascript object notation (JSON);
and

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(3)
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Include a data dictionary that
defines each field and the permitted values for any coded field.

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(c)
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To ensure statewide comparability, each
record in the dataset required by subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum,
the following fields and defined field names, which shall be populated in
accordance with the statewide permitting data standard established under
subsection (f):

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(1)
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The permit number
("PermitNum");

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(2)
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A detailed description of work
permitted ("Description");

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(3)
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The date on which the permit
application was submitted, in YYYY-MM-DD format ("AppliedDate");

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(4)
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The date on which the permit was
issued, if applicable, in YYYY-MM-DD format ("IssuedDate");

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(5)
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The date on which the permit was
completed or finalized, if applicable, in YYYY-MM-DD format
("CompletedDate");

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(6)
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A raw value indicating the current status
of the permit ("StatusCurrent");

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(7)
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The original property street address
line 1, as stored by the county ("OriginalAddress1");

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(8)
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The original property street address
line 2, as stored by the county, if applicable ("OriginalAddress2");

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(9)
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The original property city, as
stored by the county ("OriginalCity");

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(10)
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The original property state, as
stored by the county ("OriginalState");

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(11)
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The original property zip code, as
stored by the county ("OriginalZip");

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(12)
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A unique identifier for the county
publishing the record ("Jurisdiction");

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(13)
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A raw value indicating whether the
permit is for residential or non-residential property
("PermitClass");

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(14)
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A standardized value for the permit
class, as defined by the statewide permitting data standard
("PermitClassMapped");

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(15)
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A standardized value for the current
status, as defined by the statewide permitting data standard
("StatusCurrentMapped");

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(16)
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A raw value indicating whether the
permitted work is new construction or work on an existing structure
("WorkClass");

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(17)
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A standardized value for the work
class, as defined by the statewide permitting data standard
("WorkClassMapped");

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(18)
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A raw value indicating the permit
type in abbreviated or shorthand format ("PermitType");

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(19)
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A standardized value for the permit
type, as defined by the statewide permitting data standard
("PermitTypeMapped");

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(20)
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A longer description of the permit
type ("PermitTypeDesc");

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(21)
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The date the permit record was last
updated in the county's system of record, in YYYY-MM-DD format
("StatusDate");

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(22)
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The total square footage relevant to
the permit ("TotalSqFt");

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(23)
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The uniform resource locator to the
county's public web page for the permit, if applicable ("Link");

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(24)
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The latitude of the property in
decimal degrees ("Latitude");

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(25)
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The longitude of the property in
decimal degrees ("Longitude");

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(26)
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The estimated value of the project,
if known ("EstProjectCost");

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(27)
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The number of housing units
authorized or affected by the permit, if any ("HousingUnits");

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(28)
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The parcel identifier used for tax
assessment purposes, including the tax map key, if available ("PIN");

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(29)
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The primary company name of the
contractor, if applicable ("ContractorCompanyName");

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(30)
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A raw value indicating the contractor's
trade, if applicable ("ContractorTrade");

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(31)
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A standardized value for the contractor's
trade, as defined by the statewide permitting data standard, if applicable ("ContractorTradeMapped");

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(32)
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The contractor license number, if applicable
("ContractorLicNum");

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(d)
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In addition to the fields and field names
provided in subsection (c), each record shall include the following fields and
defined field names, if the county's system of record captures the underlying
information, to support statewide measurement of permitting timelines and
responsibility for any delays:

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(1)
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The date the application was
accepted for processing or deemed complete, in YYYY-MM-DD format
("AcceptedDate");

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(2)
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The permitting agency or county
department administering the permit, as stored by the county
("PermittingAgency");

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(3)
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The final disposition of the
application, limited to: approved, denied, withdrawn, expired, or voided
("FinalDisposition");

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(4)
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The date of the final disposition,
in YYYY-MM-DD format ("FinalDispositionDate"); and

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(5)
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The date the permit was last placed
on hold or otherwise paused, in YYYY-MM-DD format ("HoldDate").

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(
e)
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Each county shall cooperate with the other
counties, the office of planning and sustainable development, and the chief
data officer to ensure that the statewide permitting data standard established
under subsection (f) uses common definitions, common field names, and common
standardized values that allow for accurate cross-county comparison.
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Each county shall:

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(1)
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Designate a permitting data liaison
responsible for coordinating implementation of this section;

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(2)
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Provide, upon request, the county's
permitting data dictionary, code lists, and documentation needed to map
county-specific values to standardized values; and

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(3)
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Maintain and publish, alongside the
dataset required by subsection (a), a crosswalk that maps each county‑specific
coded value used in fields required by subsection (c) and (d) to the
corresponding standardized value.

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(f)
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The office of planning and sustainable
development, in collaboration with the chief data officer, shall establish,
publish, manage, and periodically update a statewide permitting data standard
to implement this section.
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The statewide
permitting data standard shall:

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(1)
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Be designed for routine monthly
publication and public use;

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(2)
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Incorporate, at a minimum, the
required and recommended fields described in the Building and Land Development
Specification core permit dataset requirements;

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(3)
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Define each field required by
subsections (c) and (d), including data types, required formats, and allowable
values;

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(4)
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Establish standardized value sets
for the fields ending in "Mapped", including status categories that
distinguish, at a minimum, between delays attributable to an applicant and
delays attributable to an agency;

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(5)
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Specify how a county shall represent
missing or inapplicable values; and

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(6)
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Include implementation guidance
intended to minimize the administrative burden on the counties.

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(g)
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The statewide permitting data standard
required by subsection (f) shall be published no later than July 1, 2026.
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Each county shall comply with the statewide
permitting data standard beginning no later than January 1, 2027.
"

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SECTION
3.
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No later than twenty days prior to
the convening of the regular session of
2027
, the office of planning
and sustainable development, in collaboration with the chief data officer,
shall submit a report to the legislature describing:

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(1)
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The statewide permitting data standard
published pursuant to this Act;

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(2)
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The consultation process used to
develop the standard, including participation by the counties;

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(3)
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Any barriers to county implementation,
including technology constraints, staffing, or legal barriers; and

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(4)
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Any proposed legislation or
administrative actions needed to improve statewide permitting data quality and
comparability.

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SECTION
4.
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New statutory material is
underscored.

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SECTION
5.
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This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Counties; OPSD; Chief Data Officer; Building Permits;
Civil Engineering Permits; Statewide Permitting Data Standard; Report

Description:

Requires
a statewide permitting data standard developed collaboratively by the Office of
Planning and Sustainable Development and the Chief Data Officer.
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Requires each county to publish monthly
updates of building and civil engineering permit data in accordance with that
standard.
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Requires report.

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