STAND. COM. REP. NO. 180-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1742

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. 1742 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the construction and occupation of self‑contained relocatable housing units, with certain restrictions.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; Housing Hawaiʻi's Future; Modular Building Institute; and one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health and one individual.

Your Committees find that Hawaii's ongoing housing crisis is driven not only by high construction costs and long development timelines, but also by a lack of flexible, lower‑cost housing formats that can be rapidly deployed to meet shifting community needs. Your Committees further find that self‑contained relocatable housing units can serve as an important tool in expanding the State's overall housing ecosystem by providing safe, small‑footprint dwellings that function independently of traditional infrastructure and can be placed with minimal delay. This measure ensures that communities statewide have access to an additional, adaptable form of housing that meets the needs of changing economic, environmental, and social conditions.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Prohibiting self-contained relocatable housing units from being used as a transient accommodation, rather than prohibiting their use as a transient accommodation and short-term rental;

(2) Authorizing, rather than requiring, the Department of Health to adopt rules for the prohibition of certain uses of parked vehicles;

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

(4) 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. 1742, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1742, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Transportation.

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

____________________________ MARK J. HASHEM, Chair

____________________________ LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair