STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2394

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2210

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 Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2210 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING DISCRIMINATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission to prosecute discrimination based on source of income in housing cases and clarify penalties for violations.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission, and one individual.

Your Committees find that although it is unlawful to discriminate against protected groups of individuals in rental transactions in the State, vulnerable households participating in housing choice voucher programs can experience difficulty finding affordable, stable housing because they are often faced with discrimination based on their source of income. Your Committees further find that the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission is tasked with receiving, investigating, and conciliating complaints alleging any unlawful discriminatory practice, including discrimination in housing. However, source of income discrimination is not currently included in the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission's purview. This measure would strengthen the State's housing discrimination laws, provide accessible enforcement mechanisms, and improve access to stable housing for vulnerable households.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a blank appropriation to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) housing discrimination investigator position within the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission; and

(2) 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 Commerce and Consumer Protection and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2210, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2210, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair