STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2465

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2673

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 Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs and Water, Land, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2673 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE COUNTIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require:

(1) A statewide permitting data standard developed collaboratively by the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and the Chief Data Officer;

(2) Each county to publish monthly updates of building and civil engineering permit data in accordance with that standard; and

(3) A report to the Legislature.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and Office of Enterprise Technology Services.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committees find that the expedient processing of building permits is critical to addressing the State's housing shortage, enabling renewable energy projects, and supporting economic development. Establishing uniform data sets is a significant step toward enabling accurate comparisons between jurisdictions and fostering evidence-based decision-making. By creating a transparent and consistent data environment, this measure seeks to effectively identify and address systemic bottlenecks in the permitting process, which is essential for meeting the State's broader housing and infrastructure goals.

Your Committees acknowledge the concerns raised in testimony by the Department of the Attorney General that the publishing deadline of July 1, 2026, for the statewide permitting data standard may present implementation challenges; that the absence of appropriations to the counties may constitute an unfunded mandate; and that this measure lacks clarity of references to the Building and Land Development Specification core permit dataset requirements. Your Committees further acknowledge the concerns raised in testimony by the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development that the Office may not be the appropriate agency to develop and manage statewide permitting data. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address these concerns.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the statewide permitting data standard shall incorporate certain fields and defined field names;

(2) Specifying that the statewide permitting data standard shall be published no later than January 1, 2027;

(3) Inserting a blank appropriation amount for the counties to establish, publish, manage, and periodically update a statewide permitting data standard;

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

(5) Inserting an effective date of April 19, 2042, to encourage further discussion; and

(6) 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 Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs 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. 2673, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2673, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs and Water, Land, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair