STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2877

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2607

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 2607 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects to determine the appropriate educational, examination, and experience requirements for landscape architect licensure.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects; American Institute of Architects, Hawaii Chapter; Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards; American Society of Landscape Architects; and five individuals.

Your Committee finds that the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects oversees licensure of landscape architects in the State. This measure would enable the Board to modernize and align the State's landscape architect licensure requirements with current national standards, enabling greater mobility and expanded access to licensure for the landscape architecture profession.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Restoring language in existing law that specifies the experience required for certain landscape architect licensure pathways and incorporating the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards Uniform Standard's core requirements concerning accredited education or acceptable alternatives, supervised experience in defined practice domains, and examination requirements;

(2) Inserting language that clarifies the conditions for credit earned toward required years of lawful experience;

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

(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.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2607, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2607, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair