STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2688

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2156

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 Economic Development and Tourism and Water, Land, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2156 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAND USE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Permit film production on certain lands zoned for agricultural use under certain conditions, including obtaining land use special permits;

(2) Establish the Agricultural Film Production Land Use Oversight Committee within the Creative Industries Division of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to establish film permit application requirements and processes, facilitate the issuance of special permits for film production on agricultural zoned parcels, and advise and make recommendations relating to the regulation of film productions on agricultural zoned lands;

(3) Require the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to adopt rules;

(4) Include temporary filming activities as a permissible conditional accessory use of lands within the agricultural district; and

(5) Include film production on agricultural zone parcels as a permitted use of land within the agricultural district under special permits.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Creative Industries Division of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; CARES; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; and four individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Honolulu Film Office, Coalition of County Film Offices in Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Film Alliance, Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, and one individual.

Your Committees find that the complex, multi-layered process to secure permission for filming on agriculturally zoned land needlessly delays processing timelines and therefore deters film productions from electing to utilize local agricultural lands. This discourages mutually beneficial opportunities to promote the State's film industry and offer additional revenue sources to local farmers, ranchers, and other landowners. Establishing a coordinated permitting process specific to temporary film production activities on agricultural lands will incentivize productions to choose the State as their filming location and support economic activity in rural and underserved communities. This measure therefore supports the economic development of both the film production and agricultural industries, particularly on neighbor islands.

Your Committees acknowledge the concerns raised in testimony by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism that targeted amendments are necessary to explicitly align this measure with the State's Economy for Resilience framework, reinforce that agriculture remains the primary and dominant land use, clarify that county permitting authority is preserved, and ensure accountability through data-driven reporting. Your Committees also note the testimony of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development that the permitting process provided in section 201-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to consolidated film permit processing, may be more suitable and expedient for the purposes of this measure than the process provided in section 205‑6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to special permits. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address these matters.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring any film production on an agricultural zoned parcel permitted pursuant to this measure to obtain permits to film pursuant to section 201-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to consolidated film permit processing, rather than special permits pursuant to section 205-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to special permits;

(2) Requiring any film production on an agricultural zoned parcel permitted pursuant to this measure to be accessory and secondary to the parcel's agricultural use;

(3) Clarifying that nothing in this measure shall be construed to authorize activities that impair long-term agricultural productivity, soil health, water access, or operational viability;

(4) Specifying that the Agricultural Film Production Land Use Oversight Committee shall serve in a coordinating and advisory capacity and shall not supplant any county planning commissions or the Land Use Commission;

(5) Inserting language that requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to consult with state and county agencies to issue permits for film production within an agricultural district pursuant to section 201-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to consolidated film permit processing;

(6) Deleting language that would have included film production on agricultural zoned parcels as a permitted use of land within an agricultural district under special permits;

(7) Inserting additional legislative findings;

(8) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(9) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

    (10) 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 Economic Development and Tourism and Water, Land, Culture and the Arts that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2156, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2156, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Economic Development and Tourism and Water, Land, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair

________________________________ LYNN DECOITE, Chair