STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3699

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 Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1749, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, 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) Require sellers to provide buyers with a cesspool disclosure form before the execution of a real estate purchase contract;

(2) Establish standards for the cesspool disclosure form by November 1, 2026; and

(3) Establish penalties.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program and Water Resources Research Center, Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, Hawaiʻi Climate Change and Health Working Group, Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS, WAI: Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations, and three individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committees find that the current lack of a standardized wastewater system disclosure in real estate transactions can create significant financial risks for homebuyers, who may unknowingly inherit the substantial costs of mandatory cesspool conversion. This measure would ensure that buyers are made aware of existing wastewater systems, fostering a more equitable and transparent real estate market while advancing the State's 2050 cesspool conversion deadline.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1749, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair