STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2691

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2599

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 Water, Land, Culture and the Arts and Economic Development and Tourism, to which was referred S.B. No. 2599 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Redesignate the Stadium Development District as the Halawa Community Development District;

(2) Amend the composition of the Hawaii Community Development Authority for purposes of the District;

(3) Amend the duties and powers of the Hawaii Community Development Authority and Stadium Authority as they relate to activities within the District;

(4) Clarify the Hawaii Community Development Authority's permitting and consultation powers regarding public projects within community development districts;

(5) Establish the Halawa Community Development District Special Fund; and

(6) Appropriate funds for the purposes of the measure.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Community Development Authority and the Stadium Authority.

Your Committees find that the Stadium Development District was established in 2019 within the Hawaii Community Development Authority. In 2022, the Legislature created a Transit-Oriented Development Infrastructure Improvement Program also within the Authority. Your Committees find that, coincidentally, one area incorporated in the Program by the City and County of Honolulu is the Halawa Transit-Oriented Development Neighborhood, an area in which the State is currently working with a developer to construct the New Stadium Entertainment District project. By redesignating the Stadium Development District as the Halawa Community Development District, selecting the Hawaii Community Development Authority as the lead zoning and entitlement agency for the District, and establishing a special fund, this measure better ensures the successful, efficient, and cost-effective administration of the construction and development of the new stadium, lands surrounding the new stadium, and infrastructure within the Halawa Transit-Oriented Development Neighborhood.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting as Part II, the contents of S.B. No. 2001 (2026), a measure that:

(A) Establishes the Banyan Drive Community Development District;

(B) Establishes the Banyan Drive Community Development District Special Fund; and

(C) Specifies the powers and duties of the Hawaii Community Development Authority as it relates to the new development district;

(2) Inserting as Part III, the contents of S.B. No. 2604 (2026), a measure that appropriates moneys from the Stadium Development Special Fund for the planning, design, and development of the Stadium Development District by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, contingent upon the Stadium Authority submitting a report that includes various documentation types, statuses, reports, plans, and agreements regarding the new stadium project;

(3) Inserting as Part IV, the contents of S.B. No. 3327 (2026), a measure that requires the Hawaii Community Development Authority, when planning and developing housing, to plan for complete communities that include various aspects supporting quality of life;

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

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

Your Committees note the concerns raised in testimony on S.B. No. 2001 (2026), which establishes the Banyan Drive Community Development District and the Banyan Drive Community Development District Special Fund, regarding the measure’s potential impacts on Native Hawaiian rights, cultural stewardship, and public lands governance. Testifiers emphasized that the Waiakea Peninsula, also known as Makaoku, is an area of deep cultural, genealogical, and historical significance and asserted that the measure fails to formally include lineal descendants of Makaoku in decision-making processes relating to redevelopment. Multiple individuals expressed opposition on the grounds that exclusion of lineal descendants risks perpetuating historic patterns of marginalization and harm. In addition, concerns were raised regarding long-term leases of public and ceded lands, including potential alienation of Public Land Trust lands and insufficient transparency and accountability safeguards. Your Committees recognize these concerns and the importance of meaningful community engagement and cultural protections as redevelopment efforts move forward, and request that these matters be considered by subsequent Committees to which this measure may be referred.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts and Economic Development and Tourism that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2599, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2599, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ LYNN DECOITE, Chair

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair