STAND. COM. REP. NO. 178-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1726

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. 1726 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, in collaboration with other state and county agencies, to study options for and coordinate the development of a shared statewide housing and infrastructure data platform; and

(2) Appropriate funds for consulting services and positions.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; Hawaii Public Housing Authority; School Facilities Authority; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Hawaiʻi YIMBY; Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative; Housing Hawaiʻi's Future; Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice; and Maui Chamber of Commerce. Your Committees received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committees find that Hawaii faces a structural housing crisis driven by a severe existing unit shortfall and delays in the delivery of planned or entitled housing projects already in the production pipeline. Your Committees further find that the absence of a unified statewide system to track project status, infrastructure constraints, and fiscal implications results in fragmented decision‑making and slows the delivery of needed homes. Your Committees believe that state and county agencies need a coordinated, data‑driven platform to identify barriers, align infrastructure and investment decisions, and accelerate the timely delivery of housing statewide.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriations to unspecified amounts;

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

(3) 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. 1726, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1726, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________ MARK J. HASHEM, Chair

____________________________ LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair