SB2908 • 2026

RELATING TO PERMITTING.

Budget

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

Sponsor: WAKAI, CHANG, Keohokalole, Moriwaki, Richards, San Buenaventura
Last action: 2026-03-20
Official status: 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) Quinlan excused (1).
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 PERMITTING.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO PERMITTING.
DBEDT; Counties; Permitting; Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Pre-Compliance Intake Pilot Platform; Appropriation ($) Requires and appropriates funds for the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, in collaboration with a county selected by the Department, to develop an artificial intelligence-assisted pre-compliance intake pilot platform, subject to a matching funds requirement for the county.
Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to develop a policy or metric to measure the success of the pilot platform.
Effective 7/1/2050.

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.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: SB2908 HD1 THE SENATE S.B.

SB2908 HD1 THE SENATE S.B.
NO.
2908 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII H.D.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: SB2908 SD1 THE SENATE S.B.

SB2908 SD1 THE SENATE S.B.
NO.
2908 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PERMITTING .

Bill History

2026-03-20 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) Quinlan excused (1).
2026-03-20 H
Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1275-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.
2026-03-18 H
The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Tam, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-03-12 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by ECD on Wednesday, 03-18-26 8:30AM in House conference room 423 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-03-12 H
This measure has been deleted from the meeting scheduled on Friday 03-13-26 10:00AM in conference room 423 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-03-10 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by ECD on Friday, 03-13-26 10:00AM in House conference room 423 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-03-10 H
Referred to ECD, WAL, FIN, referral sheet 16
2026-03-10 H
Pass First Reading
2026-03-06 H
Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 86) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-03-06 S
Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Ihara). Transmitted to House.
2026-03-05 S
One Day Notice 03-06-26.
2026-03-05 S
Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2835) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-03 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, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.
2026-02-27 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-03-26 10:17AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-02-19 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2026-02-19 S
Reported from EDT/EIG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2382) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2026-02-12 S
The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Fukunaga, Kim; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.
2026-02-12 S
The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EIG were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, DeCoite; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Richards, Fevella.
2026-02-10 S
The committee(s) on EDT/EIG has scheduled a public hearing on 02-12-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-01-30 S
Referred to EDT/EIG, WAM.
2026-01-26 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-01-23 S
Introduced.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO PERMITTING.
DBEDT; Counties; Permitting; Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Pre-Compliance Intake Pilot Platform; Appropriation ($)
Requires and appropriates funds for the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, in collaboration with a county selected by the Department, to develop an artificial intelligence-assisted pre-compliance intake pilot platform, subject to a matching funds requirement for the county. Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to develop a policy or metric to measure the success of the pilot platform. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB2908

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2908

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to permitting
.

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

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that the
Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development (SPEED) task force was
established pursuant to Act 133, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025.
�
The SPEED task force brought together various
state and county agencies and stakeholders to address issues related to
obtaining permits for housing, infrastructure, and other projects.
�
The legislature further finds that the SPEED
task force is responsible for identifying actions taken, challenges
encountered, and legislative measures needed to facilitate, expedite, and
coordinate state and intergovernmental permitting processes.

����
In its
initial phase, the SPEED task force split into three permitted interaction
groups, each focused on a specific, high-impact segment of the permitting
system.
�
The SPEED task force then submitted
to the legislature a December 2025 final report of the permitted interaction
groups, representing a combined report of the three permitted interaction
groups, which outlined findings regarding existing actions and persistent
challenges and presented initial recommendations for legislative and
administrative measures to improve permitting processes statewide.

����
The December
2025 final report identifies lengthy waiting times as a common issue in the
permitting process and finds that applicants, staff, and the process itself
share responsibility for these delays.
�

However, a major delay in the process occurs before state and county
personnel can even begin their substantive technical review, in the form of
incomplete or incorrect submissions, misrouted applications, and poor quality
plans.
�
The final report suggests that a digital
system or intake portal could be used to prevent the submission of incomplete
applications and standardize data across jurisdictions.
�
The legislature additionally finds that some
counties have already begun to implement artificial intelligence tools as part
of the application screening process to reduce repetitive tasks for staff while
preserving professional judgement.

����
The final
report also notes that counties currently use incompatible data standards to
represent permit status, key dates, valuations, and categories, which can lead
to confusion amongst contractors working in more than one county and degrade
application quality.
�
A statewide
platform that ensures consistent data, shared metrics, and public-facing
information could therefore help ensure a more cohesive permitting process
across jurisdictions.

����
Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to require the department of business, economic
development, and tourism to develop a statewide permitting intake platform.

����
SECTION
2.
�
The department of business, economic
development, and tourism shall develop a statewide permitting intake platform.
�
The statewide permitting intake platform
shall:

����
(1)
�
Utilize artificial intelligence to support the
permit intake, routing, and review process;

����
(2)
�
Be shared, or at minimum interoperable,
amongst counties and state permitting agencies;

����
(3)
�
Screen applications for completeness, missing
documentation, and inconsistencies;

����
(4)
�
Enforce required fields at intake;

����
(5)
�
Validate basic parcel and zoning information;

����
(6)
�
Route applications concurrently to all
relevant agencies;

����
(7)
�
Offer guidance to applicants through an
applicant-facing chat and frequently asked questions resources; and

����
(8)
�
Preserve the use of in-person assistance and
phone support and ensure that any use of automation or artificial intelligence
enhances, rather than replaces, human service.

����
SECTION
3.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $50,000 or so much thereof
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the department of business,
economic development, and tourism to develop a statewide permitting intake
platform pursuant to section 2 of this Act; provided that no funds shall be
made available under this Act unless each county provides matching funds in the
sum of $12,500 per county.

����
The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the department of business, economic
development, and tourism for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DBEDT;
Counties; Permitting; Statewide Permitting Intake Platform; Appropriation

Description:

Implements
certain recommendations of the SPEED Task Force.
�
Requires the Department of Business, Economic
Development, and Tourism to develop a statewide permitting intake platform.
�
Appropriates funds for the development of the
platform, subject to a matching funds requirement from the counties.

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