STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1203-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1921

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1921, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CESSPOOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Allow an existing cesspool that lawfully serves a single dwelling or dwelling unit in a priority level 3 area to continue serving that dwelling or dwelling unit and additional bedrooms constructed on the same parcel and within the existing dwelling or dwelling unit, subject to certain conditions; and

(2) Authorize the Department of Health to adopt rules for the restriction of additional bedrooms where evidence demonstrates that continued cesspool use impacts water quality or human health.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program; University of Hawaiʻi Water Resources Research Center; Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS; and one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committee finds that allowing limited bedroom additions to existing dwellings served by lawful cesspools in priority level 3 areas can help address housing needs while maintaining environmental protections. Your Committee further finds that the measure's conditions and safeguards preserve the Department of Health's authority to protect water quality and public health and do not alter the State's long-term cesspool conversion requirements.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying the conditions regarding additional structures connected to the cesspool;

(2) Amending the definition of "priority level 3"; and

(3) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1921, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1921, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair