STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2419

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2353

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Economic Development and Tourism, to which was referred S.B. No. 2353 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OUTDOOR SIGNAGE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the display of outdoor advertising devices, including digital outdoor signage devices, to be allowed within the Waikiki Special District and require the adoption of necessary county ordinances; and

(2) Allow the display of outdoor advertising devices, including digital outdoor signage devices, within the Stadium Development District with the authorization of the Stadium Authority.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Stadium Authority; Waikiki Business Improvement District; and Stanford Carr Development, LLC.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, The Outdoor Circle, Scenic America, and six individuals.

Your Committee finds that prohibiting the Stadium Authority from authorizing and managing digital outdoor signage in the Stadium Development District needlessly restricts a diversified and sustainable potential revenue stream. Your Committee further finds that Waikiki's public communication infrastructure requires modernization to remain competitive with other premier, high-traffic pedestrian destinations globally. Other major urban centers have deployed multi-purpose digital kiosks for advertising, public safety features, emergency preparedness and real-time public information, and community and visitor messaging. Notably, digital outdoor advertising devices can be used to effectively communicate emergency alerts during natural disasters, such as tsunami advisories. This measure aligns the Stadium Development District with industry standards for professional sports and entertainment venues globally and supports safety and dynamic public communications in high-traffic public spaces.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) 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 Economic Development and Tourism that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2353, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2353, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Economic Development and Tourism,

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LYNN DECOITE, Chair