STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1544-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2041

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 2041, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Simplify the land registration process by repealing the Land Court system and directing the cessation of new Land Court registrations by January 1, 2030;

(2) Establish a working group to recommend reforms to effectively eliminate the Land Court; and

(3) Appropriate funds for the Land Court to inform registered owners of any interest in property registered or pending in Land Court of the requirement for deregistration of property.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Mortgage Bankers Association of Hawaii and Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary and Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that the Land Court system was intended to provide certainty of land ownership through a Torrens title registration system. However, no new properties have been registered in the Land Court since 1989, reflecting a longstanding public preference for recording property in the regular system administered by the Bureau of Conveyances. Your Committee further finds that consolidating land records under a single system within the Bureau of Conveyances would reduce duplication and improve the efficiency and modernization of the State's land title recording system.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have repealed the Land Court system and directed the cessation of new Land Court registrations by January 1, 2030;

(2) Amending the scope of the working group's responsibilities by requiring a review of statutory references to the Land Court, evaluation of the timing and process for ending new registrations, and development of proposed legislation to repeal the Land Court and make necessary conforming amendments;

(3) Authorizing the chair of the working group to invite other individuals the chair deems appropriate;

(4) Requiring the Judiciary to provide any necessary administrative support to the working group, including staffing assistance and the preparation and drafting of the report;

(5) Requiring the Legislative Reference Bureau to assist in drafting the proposed legislation developed by the working group;

(6) Amending the appropriation to redirect funds previously designated for Land Court deregistration notices to instead support the administrative expenses of the working group; and

(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments 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 S.B. No. 2041, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2041, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair