STAND. COM. REP. NO. 179-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1737

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committees on Housing and Water & Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 1737 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify that a farm dwelling permitted in the agricultural district includes a single‑family farm dwelling with an accessory employee housing structure, subject to specified restrictions.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS; Hawaiʻi Farmers Union; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; Housing Hawaiʻi's Future; and one individual. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity; Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; and one individual.

Your Committees find that farmers throughout the State struggle to secure adequate onsite housing for employees, making it difficult to attract and retain the labor needed to sustain agricultural operations. Your Committees further find that outdated statutory definitions and lot size restrictions have created uncertainty for landowners and counties regarding whether employee housing structures may be legally authorized alongside farm dwellings. This measure ensures that farmers have clear, reliable authority to provide appropriately scaled onsite employee housing, supporting long‑term agricultural viability statewide.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Replacing the terms "accessory employee housing structure" and "employee housing" with the term "farm employee housing" and inserting a definition for that term;

(2) Clarifying the definition of "farm dwelling";

(3) Deleting the savings clause;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Water & Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1737, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1737, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Water & Land,

____________________________ MARK J. HASHEM, Chair

____________________________ LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair