HB1799

SECTION 1. Section 46-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§46-15 Experimental and demonstration housing projects[.] or commercial projects. (a) The mayor of each county, after holding a public hearing on the matter and receiving the approval of the respective council, shall be empowered to designate areas of land for experimental and demonstration housing projects[,] or commercial projects, the purposes of which are to research and develop ideas that would reduce the cost of housing or support commercial development in the State. Except as [~~hereinafter~~] provided[,] in this section, the experimental and demonstration housing projects or commercial projects shall be exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules or regulations of any governmental agency or public utility relating to planning, zoning, construction standards for subdivisions, development and improvement of land, and the construction and sale of homes thereon; provided that the experimental and demonstration housing projects or commercial projects shall not affect the safety standards or tariffs approved by the public [~~utility commissions~~] utilities commission for such public utility.

(b) The mayor of each county, with the approval of the respective council, may designate a county agency or official who shall have the power to review all plans and specifications for the subdivisions, development and improvement of the land involved, and the construction and sale of homes thereon. The county agency or official shall have the power to approve or disapprove or to make modifications to all or any portion of the plans and specifications.

(c) The county agency or official shall submit preliminary plans and specifications to the legislative body of the respective county for its approval or disapproval. The final plans and specifications for the project shall be deemed approved by the legislative body if the final plans and specifications do not substantially deviate from the approved preliminary plans and specifications. The final plans and specifications shall constitute the standards for the particular project.

(d) No action shall be prosecuted or maintained against any county, its officials, or its employees, on account of actions taken in reviewing, approving, or disapproving such plans and specifications.

(e) Any experimental or demonstration housing project [~~for the purposes hereinabove mentioned~~] or commercial project may be sponsored by any state or county agency or any person as defined in section 1-19[.] for the purposes of this section.

(f) The county agency or official shall apply to the state land use commission for an appropriate land use district classification change, except where a proposed project is located on land within an urban district established by the state land use commission. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the state land use commission may approve the application at any time after a public hearing held in the county where the land is located, upon notice of the time and place of the hearing being published in the same manner as the notice required for a public hearing by the planning commission of the appropriate county.

[~~(b) The experimental~~] (g) Experimental and demonstration homes or commercial projects may be sold to the public under terms and conditions approved by the county agency or official who has been designated to review the plans and specifications.

[~~(c)~~] (h) The county agency or official may adopt [~~and promulgate~~] rules and regulations [~~which are~~] necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this section."

SECTION 2. Section 46-15.01, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§46-15.01[]] Limitation of application. This chapter shall not be construed to exempt counties from the application of chapter 104 to experimental and demonstration housing projects or commercial projects pursuant to section 46-15."

SECTION 3. Section 104-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "public work" to read as follows:

""Public work" means any project, including development of any housing or commercial project pursuant to section 46-15 or housing project pursuant to chapter 201H and development, construction, renovation, and maintenance related to refurbishment of any real or personal property, where the funds or resources required or used to undertake the project are to any extent derived, either directly or indirectly, from public revenues of the State or any county, or from the sale of securities or bonds whose interest or dividends are exempt from state or federal taxes."

SECTION 4. Section 104-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) This chapter shall apply to every contract in excess of $2,000 for construction of a public work project to which a governmental contracting agency is a party; provided that this chapter shall not apply to experimental and demonstration housing or commercial project developed pursuant to section 46-15 or housing developed pursuant to chapter 201H if the cost of the project is less than $500,000 and the eligible bidder or eligible developer is a private nonprofit corporation.

For the purposes of this subsection:

"Contract" includes but is not limited to any agreement, purchase order, or voucher in excess of $2,000 for construction of a public work project.

"Governmental contracting agency" includes:

(1) Any person or entity that causes either directly or indirectly the building or development of a public work; and

(2) Any public-private partnership.

"Party" includes eligible bidders for and eligible developers of any public work and any housing under chapter 201H; provided that this subsection shall not apply to any housing or commercial project developed under section 46-15 or housing project developed under chapter 201H if the entire cost of the project is less than $500,000 and the eligible bidder or eligible developer is a private nonprofit corporation."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that the amendments made to section 104-2(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 4 of this Act shall not be repealed when that section is reenacted on June 30, 2030, pursuant to section 5 of Act 54, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, as amended by section 4 of Act 39, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1799
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII