STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2854

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3048

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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3048, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE STATE BUILDING CODE COUNCIL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to strengthen the capacity of the State Building Code Council to identify and address permitting backlogs.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Establishes and appropriates moneys for a permanent full-time position to support statewide building code coordination, permitting transparency, and modernization initiatives;

(2) Requires consistent county reporting on building permitting performance;

(3) Requires a plan for the creation of a standardized statewide permitting data system or public dashboard; and

(4) Requires the development of statewide standards for credentialing, training, and continuing education for permitting officials.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, and Hawaii Food Industry Association.

Your Committee finds that the absence of standardized data reporting of permitting timelines and bottlenecks limits the State's ability to identify and address systemic issues in the permitting system. This measure will address this issue by building dedicated staffing capacity in the State Building Code Council to support data collection, analysis, training coordination, and transparency initiatives related to permitting performance.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3048, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair