SB2262 SD1

SECTION 1. Chapter 342H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§342H- Complaint reporting procedures. (a) The department shall establish and administer a centralized reporting system for use by the public to report complaints of this chapter, including a statewide online portal and telephone hotline. The department shall receive, track, and assign to the appropriate county or state authorities all reports from the public.

(b) The department shall establish standardized response timelines, which each county shall adopt, to ensure a prompt response to reports from the public of complaints.

(1) The number of reports received during the quarter;

(2) Investigation outcomes;

(3) The number of fines issued; and

(4) Cleanup activities undertaken to address reported complaints."

SECTION 2. Section 342H-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§342H-9 Penalties. (a) Any person who violates this chapter, any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, or any condition of a permit or variance issued pursuant to this chapter shall be fined not more than [~~$10,000~~] $25,000 for each separate offense. Each day of each violation shall constitute a separate offense. In addition to the foregoing, any person who violates this chapter, any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, or any condition of a permit or variance issued pursuant to this chapter shall be liable for the full cost of pollution removal. Any action taken in environmental court to impose or collect the penalty provided for in this subsection shall be considered a civil action.

(b) Any person who denies, obstructs, or hampers the entrance or inspection by any duly authorized officer or employee of the department of any building, place, or vehicle which the officer or employee is authorized to enter and inspect shall be fined not more than [~~$500.~~] $10,000. Any action taken in environmental court to impose or collect the penalty provided for in this subsection shall be considered a civil action."

SECTION 3. Section 342H-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§342H-17[]] Enforcement by state and county authorities[.]; collaboration. (a) All state and county health authorities and police officers shall enforce this chapter and the rules, orders, and permits of the department.

(b) There is established a state-county illegal dumping task force. The task force shall meet at least once quarterly to coordinate enforcement among state and county health authorities and applicable law enforcement personnel. Members of the task force shall include:

(1) The chief of the department's solid and hazardous waste branch, or the chief's designee, who shall serve as chair;

(2) The director of law enforcement, or the director's designee;

(3) Chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, or the chairperson's designee;

(4) The administrator of each county's solid waste division, or their designees; and

(5) The chief of each county police department, or their designees.

(1) A centralized solid waste pollution incident database; and

(2) Uniform data standards, including incident location, type of waste, responsible party, and other applicable data related to enforcement.

(d) The department shall coordinate annual joint enforcement operations between the state and counties, conducted not less than twice per year within each county, targeting known hotspots for solid waste pollution.

(e) The department shall prepare and publish an annual public report summarizing enforcement actions, penalties issued, and cleanup costs."

SECTION 4. Section 342H-37, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) A person commits the offense of felony disposal of solid waste if the person:

(1) Knowingly discards, disposes of, deposits, discharges, or dumps solid waste, or by contract or otherwise arranges directly or indirectly for the disposal of solid waste in an amount equal to or greater than ten cubic yards in volume anywhere other than a permitted solid waste management system without the written approval of the director;

(2) After having been sentenced under this section or section 342H-39 on two separate and prior occasions, knowingly discards, disposes of, deposits, discharges, or dumps solid waste, or by contract or otherwise arranges directly or indirectly for the disposal of solid waste in an amount equal to or greater than one cubic yard in volume anywhere other than a permitted solid waste management system without the written approval of the director; [or]

(3) Knowingly discards, disposes of, deposits, discharges, or dumps solid waste, or by contract or otherwise arranges directly or indirectly for the disposal of solid waste anywhere other than a permitted solid waste management system without the written approval of the director for which the expense of recovering, removing, restoring, and lawfully disposing of the solid waste exceeds $1,500[.]; or

(4) Knowingly discards, disposes of, deposits, discharges, or dumps solid waste, or by contract or otherwise arranges directly or indirectly for the disposal of solid waste in any amount within an environmentally sensitive area, as defined in rules adopted by the department pursuant to chapter 91, including streams, watersheds, and state parks."

2. By amending subsection (c) to read:

"(c) Felony disposal of solid waste is a class C felony for which a fine of no more than $50,000 for each separate offense may be imposed. In addition to the foregoing, any vehicle owned and operated by the person in the commission of the offense shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to chapter 712A. In addition to the foregoing, any person who violates this section shall be ordered to complete community service related to pollution cleanup totaling not less than forty hours but not more than eighty hours."

SECTION 5. Section 342H-39, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

"§342H-39 Petty misdemeanor disposal of solid waste. (a) A person commits the offense of petty misdemeanor disposal of solid waste if the person knowingly discards, disposes of, deposits, discharges, or dumps solid waste, or by contract or otherwise arranges directly or indirectly for the disposal of solid waste in an amount equal to or greater than one cubic yard in volume and less than ten cubic yards in volume, anywhere other than a permitted solid waste management system without the written approval of the director[.]; provided that disposal of solid waste in an amount less than one cubic yard in volume that is not permitted by law shall be subject to section 708-829.

(b) Petty misdemeanor disposal of solid waste is punishable by[:] a restitution payment for reimbursement of the full cost of cleanup, community service for pollution cleanup totaling not less than forty hours but not more than eighty hours, and:

(1) A fine of [no]:

(A) Not less than $5,000 but not more than $10,000 for a first offense;

(B) Not less than $10,000 but not more than $20,000 for a second offense; and

(C) Not less than $25,000 for [~~each separate offense;~~] a third or subsequent offense or for chronic or excessive offenses;

(2) Imprisonment of [no] not more than thirty days for each separate offense; or

(3) Revocation or suspension by court order of any contractor's license or any applicable certificate of authorization from the public utilities commission.

Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense. In addition to the foregoing, any vehicle owned and operated by the person in the commission of the offense shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to chapter 712A."

SECTION 6. Section 342H-10.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§342H-10.5 Disposition of collected fines and penalties. Except as otherwise provided in this section, fines and penalties collected under sections 342H-9 [~~and~~], 342H-10, 342H‑37, and 342H-39 shall be deposited into the environmental response revolving fund established by section 128D-2. Where a county individually, or the State and a county jointly, initiates and conducts an investigation resulting in the imposition and collection of a fine or penalty, pursuant to section 342H-30(c), the fine or penalty shall be distributed as follows:

(1) One half to the department of the county whose officers or employees initiated and conducted the investigation; and

(2) One half to the environmental response revolving fund established in section 128D-2."

SECTION 7. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 8. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on January 30, 2050.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2262
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII