STAND. COM. REP. NO. 138-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2362

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 2362 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the counties to automatically approve permits for hurricane retrofitting under certain conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that many single‑family homes in Hawaii, particularly those built with older single‑wall construction, are not resilient enough to withstand severe weather events, leaving residents vulnerable to property loss and insurance instability. Recent hurricane‑related insurance cancellations and rising natural disaster risks have further highlighted the need for streamlined structural improvements that meet modern fortified protection standards. Your Committee believes that automatically approving permits for qualified hurricane retrofit projects will ensure residents can more easily strengthen their homes against increasingly frequent and damaging storms.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2362, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2362, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Water & Land.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

____________________________

LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair