STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3020

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2006

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2006, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to clarify that a "farm dwelling" permitted in an agricultural district includes a single-family farm dwelling with an accessory employee housing structure, subject to certain restrictions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Housing Hawaiʻi's Future, Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United, Kanalani Ohana Farm, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, and thirty individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu, and Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau.

Your Committee finds that increasing the supply of farm employee housing helps bona fide farms and is critical to supporting local agriculture throughout the State. Allowing accessory employee housing and supporting broader on-site accommodations addresses an important intersection between agricultural productivity and the need for rural workforce housing. Therefore, this measure will reduce regulatory uncertainty for farmers and support responsible development while retaining the integrity of agricultural use districts.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Your Committee notes that all farm dwellings and farm employee housing should be subject to and comply with all county laws, rules, regulations, land use ordinances, and zoning and permitting regulations, including but not limited to conditional use permits. Accordingly, you Committee respectfully requests that subsequent Committees to which this measure is referred consider this issue.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2006, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2006, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair