STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3241

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1749

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 1749, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CESSPOOLS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Beginning January 1, 2027, require sellers to provide buyers with a cesspool disclosure form before the execution of a real estate purchase contract;

(2) Require the Department of Health and Real Estate Commission to develop a standardized cesspool disclosure form by November 1, 2026; and

(3) Establish penalties.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program; Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS; Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition; Wastewater Alternatives & Innovations, Friends of Hanauma Bay; Hawaiʻi Ocean Legislative Task Force; Climate Change and Health Working Group; Surfrider Foundation, Hawaiʻi Region; and Public Access to SunScreens Coalition.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Real Estate Commission.

Your Committees find that the State has over eighty-three thousand cesspools that discharge millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the state's groundwater per day. Due to the threat that sewage discharge poses to communities and the environment, it is imperative that homeowners are equipped with the knowledge, funding, and incentives necessary to comply with existing law that requires conversion of non-exempt cesspools and cesspool system upgrades. By requiring full transparency from the State's real estate market, this measure will allow prospective buyers to be fully informed of their potential health and safety risks, obligation for mandatory conversion, and potential financial burden of a given property.

Your Committees acknowledge the concerns raised in testimony that requiring the Department of Health and Real Estate Commission to develop a cesspool disclosure form may create confusion as the Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS already produces a required disclosure form for wastewater and cesspools. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address this concern.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required the Department of Health and Real Estate Commission to develop a cesspool disclosure form; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1749, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1749, H.D. 2, 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 Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Health and Human Services,

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair