STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2685

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2994

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2994 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE STATE BUILDING CODE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require that the adoption, amendment, or update of a building code or standard by the State Building Code Council be within two years of every other official publication date of a code or standard; and

(2) Clarify that the Hawaii State Building Code acts as the interim county building code until superseded by the county.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from D.R. Horton Hawaii LLC, HPM Building Supply, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, NAIOP Hawaii, Holomua Collaborative, and Building Industry Association of Hawaii.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Subcontractors Association of Hawaii; Blue Planet Foundation; American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers; and Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii State Energy Office and Hawaiʻi Energy.

Your Committee finds that under the existing law, the Hawaii State Building Code Council (Council) must adopt, amend, or update certain widely recognized nationally published codes or standards identified under section 107-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, within two years of any official publication date of a code or standard. Your Committee recognizes that the State continues to experience a housing shortage and that this is intended to facilitate the construction of housing in the State while providing sufficient time for the Council, along with industry stakeholders, to adequately review the new codes or standards, assess potential changes and financial impacts to homeowners and builders, and adapt certain codes or standards to Hawaii's unique island environment. However, your Committee acknowledges the concerns raised by multiple testifiers that this measure would further delay the adoption of critical building codes and standards that are not only necessary for the life, health, and safety of communities in the State, but also for the State to receive federal funding for infrastructure resiliency projects and to meet its climate change and renewable energy goals. Accordingly, this measure needs to be amended to address this issue.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending language for the requirement of the State Building Code Council to adopt, amend, or update a building code or standard within two years of every other official publication date of a code or standard to only apply to the International Building Code and the International Residential Code, as published by the International Code Council;

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2994, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2994, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Government Operations,

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ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair