SB 2066: State Agencies; Counties; State Projects; County Building Permit Requirements; Cooperative Working Group; Report; Appropriation

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO COUNTY PERMITTING AND INSPECTION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the State submits hundreds of building permit applications each year to county permitting departments.  The allocated costs for the projects total hundreds of millions of dollars and support thousands of jobs but often face considerable delays in the permit approval process.  During 2022 and 2023, more than ninety per cent of all state building permit applications submitted to the department of planning and permitting of the city and county of Honolulu took longer than one hundred eighty days to obtain approval, with the average approval length being approximately six hundred days.  This processing time was approximately six times longer than the average private sector building permit application approval time, and the delays increased state costs by more than $30,000,000 due to inflation.  The legislature believes that further information is necessary to understand the permitting inefficiencies when state projects require permitting by the counties.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish a cooperative working group to address state projects that require county permitting and to make recommendations on streamlining permitting processes.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established a cooperative working group to address state projects that require county permitting.

     (b)  The working group shall explore, research, and make recommendations on streamlining permitting processes exclusively for state projects with county permitting needs.

     (c)  The working group shall consist of the following members:

     (1)  One member of the Hawaii state senate, to be appointed by the senate president, who shall serve as co-chair of the working group;

     (2)  One member of the house of representatives, to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, who shall serve as co-chair of the working group;

     (3)  The comptroller, or their designee;

     (4)  The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources;

     (5)  The director of transportation, or their designee;

     (6)  The executive director of the Hawaii community development authority, or their designee;

     (7)  The executive director of the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation, or their designee;

     (8)  The director of the office of planning and sustainable development, or their designee;

     (9)  The chief energy officer, or their designee;

    (10)  The chief of the wastewater branch of the department of health, or their designee;

    (11)  The chair of the state building code council of the department of accounting and general services, or their designee; and

    (12)  One representative from each county planning and permitting department, to be invited by the co-chairs of the working group.

     (d)  The cooperative working group shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2027.

     (e)  The members of the cooperative working group shall serve without compensation for their service on the working group but shall be reimbursed for any costs incurred in carrying out their duties as members of the working group.

     (f)  The cooperative working group shall cease to exist on June 30, 2027.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the counties to address staffing and personnel shortages in planning and permitting departments, to be allocated as follows:

     (1)  $            to the county of Hawaii;

     (2)  $            to the city and county of Honolulu;

     (3)  $            to the county of Kauai; and

     (4)  $            to the county of Maui;

provided that the funds shall be expended only for staffing and personnel dedicated to working on state projects.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the counties for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on April 19, 2042.

Report Title:

State Agencies; Counties; State Projects; County Building Permit Requirements; Cooperative Working Group; Report; Appropriation

Description:

Establishes a cooperative working group to address state projects that require county permitting and to explore, research, and make recommendations on streamlining processes.  Requires a report to the Legislature.  Appropriates funds.  Effective 4/19/2042.  (SD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to county permitting and inspection.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the State submits hundreds of building permit applications each year to county permitting departments.  The allocated costs for the projects total hundreds of millions of dollars and support thousands of jobs but often face considerable delays in the permit approval process.  During 2022 and 2023, more than ninety per cent of all state building permit applications submitted to the city and county of Honolulu department of planning and permitting took longer than one hundred eighty days to obtain approval, with the average approval length being approximately six hundred days.  This processing time was approximately six times longer than the average private sector building permit application approval time, and the delays increased state costs by more than $30,000,000 due to inflation.

     The legislature further finds that exempting certain state projects from county building permit requirements can help to expedite state projects and reduce the workload of county permitting offices, helping to decrease permit approval times for private and other government permits.

     The purpose of this Act is to authorize the State to exempt certain state projects from the county building permit requirements.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§46-     County building permit requirements; state projects; exemption; report.  (a)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the State may exempt a state project from county building permit requirements when that project is compliant with applicable building codes or county, national, or international prescriptive construction standards, including construction, electrical, energy conservation, plumbing, and sidewalk standards, as applicable; provided that the state project is not located within a special flood hazard area as identified on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's current Flood Insurance Rate Maps.

     (b)  All projects exempted under subsection (a) shall be included in a report that is regularly made available to the public, such as in a board report or list of monthly environmental exemption notifications.

     (c)  When a state agency undertakes a project that is to be dedicated to a county and desires to be exempted from county building permit requirements, the state agency may prepare a programmatic or project-specific agreement with the county that establishes requirements and standards for review and acceptance by the county, such as inspection and certificate of occupancy requirements and management of construction record documentation.

     (d)  Any state agency desiring to utilize exemptions from county permitting processes may establish a cooperative working group with the counties and other stakeholders to identify any collective needs at the state level to support the identification of infrastructure adequacy, site development reviews, building permits, inspections, certificates of occupancy, and management of construction records.  The cooperative working group may:

     (1)  Identify state resources that may be needed to coordinate and integrate such processes with the counties and other stakeholders;

     (2)  Consider other actions that may be needed to support state construction activities, such as the establishment of a state development or zoning agency; and

     (3)  Be established as a committee or permitted interaction group of an existing board or interagency council.

     (e)  Each cooperative working group established pursuant to subsection (d) shall be subject to the requirements of chapter 92 and submit at least one interim progress report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session immediately succeeding the establishment of the cooperative working group.

     (f)  Nothing in this section shall relieve any state project from the laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations of the State and county or any departments or boards thereof with respect to the construction, operation, and maintenance of the state project, compliance with master plans or zoning laws or regulations, compliance with building and health codes and other laws, ordinances, or rules and regulations of similar nature applicable to the state project.

     (g)  As used in this section:

     "Building permit" means an authorization required and issued by a county to perform within the jurisdiction of the county, specified work governed by the county's building, construction, electrical, energy conservation, plumbing, or sidewalk codes, as applicable.

     "State agency" means any office, department, board, commission, bureau, division, public corporation, agency, or instrumentality of the State.

     "State lands" means all land owned by the State through any state agency.

     "State project" means any undertaking of work or improvement of state lands or any interest therein, developed, acquired, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated, improved, altered, or repaired by a state agency."

     SECTION 3.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

Report Title:

State Agencies; Counties; State Projects; County Building Permit Requirements; Exemption; Public Disclosure; Programmatic or Project-Specific Agreements; Cooperative Working Groups; Report

Description:

Allows state projects to be exempted from county building permit requirements under certain conditions.  Requires all exempted state projects to be included in a report that is regularly made available to the public.  Allows state agencies that undertake projects to be dedicated to a county to prepare programmatic or project-specific agreements that establish requirements and standards for review and acceptance if the agency wants the project to be exempted.  Allows state agencies that want to be exempted from county permitting processes to establish a cooperative working group.  Requires cooperative working groups to submit an interim report to the Legislature before the Regular Session of 2027.  Effective 7/1/2050.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2692

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:     S.B. No. 2066

        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 Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2066 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COUNTY PERMITTING AND INSPECTION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Allow state projects to be exempted from county building permit requirements under certain conditions;

     (2)  Require all exempted state projects to be included in a report that is regularly made available to the public;

     (3)  Allow state agencies that undertake projects to be dedicated to a county to prepare programmatic or project-specific agreements that establish requirements and standards for review and acceptance if the agency wants the project to be exempted;

     (4)  Allow state agencies that want to be exempted from county permitting processes to establish a cooperative working group; and

     (5)  Require cooperative working groups to submit an interim report to the Legislature before the Regular Session immediately succeeding the establishment of the working group.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Housing Hawaiʻi's Future and Hawaiʻi Yimby.

     Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

     Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services and Department of Education.

     Your Committees find that infrastructure challenges are compounded by duplicative and delayed permit review processes.  While county permitting plays an essential role in ensuring code compliance and public safety, there are circumstances where these procedural layers cause inflated construction costs, labor escalation, and financing delays, further exacerbating the State's housing shortage.  Your Committees further find that one of the most significant impediments to a successful permitting process is personnel shortages.  However, more information is needed on how to balance the safety and oversight benefits of permitting processes with the needs of the State to quickly and efficiently construct necessary projects.  Therefore, this measure, as amended, will align with the State's commitments to increasing housing and infrastructure development by creating a working group focused on streamlining permitting regulations and increasing qualified staffing for state projects.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language that would have:

          (A)  Allowed state projects to be exempted from county building permit requirements under certain conditions;

          (B)  Required all exempted state projects to be included in a report that is regularly made available to the public;

          (C)  Allowed state agencies that undertake projects to be dedicated to a county to prepare programmatic or project-specific agreements that establish requirements and standards for review and acceptance if the agency wants the project to be exempted;

     (D)  Allowed state agencies that want to be exempted from county permitting processes to establish a cooperative working group; and

          (E)  Required cooperative working groups to submit an interim report to the Legislature before the Regular Session immediately succeeding the establishment of the working group;

     (2)  Inserting language that establishes a cooperative working group to research, explore, and make recommendations on streamlining processes exclusively for state projects that require county permitting;

     (3)  Inserting language designating the membership of the working group;

     (4)  Inserting language that requires the working group to submit a report to the Legislature;

     (5)  Inserting a blank appropriation to the counties to address staffing and personnel shortages in planning and permitting departments, to be expended only for staff and personnel dedicated to working on State projects;

     (6)  Deleting the savings clause;

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

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

     (9)  Making a 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 Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2066, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2066, 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 Government Operations,