HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

THE THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2026

 

COMMITTEE ON WATER & LAND

Rep. Mark J. Hashem, Chair

Rep. Dee Morikawa, Vice Chair

 

Rep. Della Au Belatti

Rep. Justin H. Woodson

Rep. Linda Ichiyama

Rep. Garner M. Shimizu

Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto

Rep. Kanani Souza

Rep. Mahina Poepoe

 

 

 

NOTICE OF HEARING

 

DATE:

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

TIME:

9:00AM

PLACE:

VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE

Conference Room 411

State Capitol

415 South Beretania Street

 

 

 

Click here to submit testimony and to testify remotely or in person.

 

A live stream link of all House Standing Committee meetings will be available online

shortly before the scheduled start time.

 

Click here for the live stream of this meeting via YouTube.

 

 

 

A G E N D A

 

HB 1881

Status

RELATING TO LAND USE.

Prohibits passenger ropeways on mountain lands within all land use districts.

 

WAL, JHA

HB 2218

Status

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources to enter into community co-management agreements and establishes qualifications for eligible community co-managers.  Authorizes the disposition of public lands by a community co-management agreement.

 

WAL, FIN

HB 1956

Status

RELATING TO FRESHWATER WATERWAYS.

Prohibits residing in, on, or within fifty feet of a freshwater waterway.  Authorizes state and local law enforcement agencies, including county police, the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Conservation and Resources Enforcement Program, and the Department of Law Enforcement, to enforce the prohibition.

 

WAL, JHA

HB 2151

Status

RELATING TO BUILDING MATERIALS.

Recognizes hempcrete as an allowable non-structural building material under state law.  Clarifies that no state or county building code shall prohibit the use of hempcrete.  Provides the authority for building officials to approve hempcrete construction that meets applicable safety and performance standards.

 

WAL, JHA

HB 1845

Status

RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION.

Specifies that a simple majority of affirmative votes of the members of the Land Use Commission present at a meeting and qualified to vote is required for any boundary amendment.

 

WAL, JHA

HB 1844

Status

RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION.

Requires the Land Use Commission to reclassify lands that are designated for urban growth under a county general plan or county development plan as being in the urban district at the request of the county.

 

WAL, JHA

HB 2103

Status

RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION.

Amends the composition of the Land Use Commission to require at least one member who has substantial experience and expertise in water resource management.  Requires the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to submit a list of nominees to the Governor for the appointment of a commission member having substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian land usage and knowledge of cultural land practices.

 

WAL, JHA

HB 2424

Status

RELATING TO LAND USE.

Between 7/1/2026 and 12/31/2028, authorizes each county planning commission to petition the Land Use Commission for a district boundary amendment to reclassify certain lands within the agricultural district to the rural district through the declaratory ruling process.

 

WAL, JHA

HB 1650, HD1

(HSCR29-26)

Status

RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS.

Removes proposed actions within the Waikiki special district from the requirement for environmental assessments under section 343-5, HRS.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD1)

 

EEP, WAL, FIN

HB 376, HD1

(HSCR106)

Status

RELATING TO CESSPOOLS.

Accelerates the deadlines for the required upgrades, conversions, or connections of priority level 1 and priority level 2 cesspools to 2035 and 2040, respectively.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD1)

 

EEP, WAL, FIN

HB 2599

Status

RELATING TO AQUATIC PROTECTION.

Requires the Division of Aquatic Resources of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to manage the aquatic life and aquatic resources of the State with the highest priority given to protecting, restoring, and maintaining ecosystem integrity and use the best scientific data available.  Requires the Division of Aquatic Resources of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to set goals to substantially increase coral-reef resilience around Oahu and develop a framework to meet those goals, with annual reports to the Legislature.

 

WAL, FIN

HB 1861

Status

RELATING TO THE COUNTIES.

Authorizes counties to sell property through non-judicial foreclosure as a way to collect unpaid civil fines, subject to certain conditions.

 

WAL, JHA

 

 

 

 

DECISION MAKING TO FOLLOW

 

Persons wishing to offer comments should submit testimony at least 24 hours prior to the hearing.  Testimony received after this time will be stamped late and left to the discretion of the chair to consider.  While every effort will be made to incorporate all testimony received, materials received on the day of the hearing or improperly identified or directed, may not be processed.

 

Testimony submitted will be placed on the legislative website.  This public posting of testimony on the website should be considered when including personal information in your testimony.

 

The chair may institute a per-testifier time limit.

 

Committees meeting in the morning must adjourn prior to the day's Floor Session.  Therefore, due to time constraints, not all testifiers may be provided an opportunity to offer verbal comments.  However, written submissions will be considered by the committee.

 

Please refrain from profanity or uncivil behavior.  Violations may result in ejection from the hearing without the ability to rejoin.

 

For remote testifiers, the House will not be responsible for bad connections on the testifier's end.

 

For general help navigating the committee hearing process, please contact the Public Access Room at (808) 587-0478 or par@capitol.hawaii.gov.

 

The livestream and/or cable TV broadcast of this meeting will include closed captioning.  If you need an auxiliary aid/service or other accommodation (including oral, written, or ASL interpretive services) or are unable to submit testimony via the website due to a disability, please contact the committee clerk at 808 586-6510. Requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.

 

Click here for a complete list of House Guidelines for remote testimony.

 

FOR AMENDED NOTICES:  Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are bolded.

 

For more information, please contact the Committee Clerk at (808) 586-6510.

 

 

 

 

 

________________________________________

Rep. Mark J. Hashem

Chair