SB 2434: PUC; Zero-emission Transportation Goals; Electric Vehicle Infrastructure; Special Management Areas; Exclusion

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 205A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "development" to read as follows:

     ""Development":

     (1)  Means any of the uses, activities, or operations on land or in or under water within a special management area that are included below:

          (A)  Placement or erection of any solid material or any gaseous, liquid, solid, or thermal waste;

          (B)  Grading, removing, dredging, mining, or extraction of any materials;

          (C)  Change in the density or intensity of use of land, including but not limited to the division or subdivision of land;

          (D)  Change in the intensity of use of water, ecology related thereto, or of access thereto; and

          (E)  Construction, reconstruction, or alteration of the size of any structure; and

     (2)  Does not include the following:

          (A)  Construction or reconstruction of a single-family residence that is less than seven thousand five hundred square feet of floor area; is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion; and is not part of a larger development;

          (B)  Repair or maintenance of roads and highways within existing rights-of-way;

          (C)  Routine maintenance dredging of existing streams, channels, and drainage ways;

          (D)  Repair and maintenance of underground utility lines, including but not limited to water, sewer, power, and telephone and minor appurtenant structures including pad mounted transformers and sewer pump stations;

          (E)  Zoning variances, except for height, density, parking, and shoreline setback;

          (F)  Repair, maintenance, or interior alterations to existing structures;

          (G)  Demolition or removal of structures, except those structures located on any historic site as designated in national or state registers;

          (H)  Use of any land for the purpose of cultivating, planting, growing, and harvesting plants, crops, trees, and other agricultural, horticultural, or forestry products or animal husbandry, or aquaculture or mariculture of plants or animals, or other agricultural purposes, including all traditional fishpond and traditional agricultural practices;

          (I)  Transfer of title to land;

          (J)  Creation or termination of easements, covenants, or other rights in structures or land;

          (K)  Subdivision of land into lots greater than twenty acres in size;

          (L)  Subdivision of a parcel of land into four or fewer parcels when no associated construction activities are proposed; provided that any land that is so subdivided shall not thereafter qualify for this exception with respect to any subsequent subdivision of any of the resulting parcels;

          (M)  Installation of underground utility lines and appurtenant aboveground fixtures less than four feet in height along existing corridors;

          (N)  Structural and nonstructural improvements to existing single-family residences, where otherwise permissible;

          (O)  Nonstructural improvements to existing commercial or noncommercial structures;

          (P)  Construction, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of emergency management warning or signal devices and sirens;

          (Q)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of public pedestrian and bicycle facilities, including sidewalks, paths, bikeways, crosswalks, stairs, ramps, traffic control barriers, signs, signals, and associated improvements;

          (R)  Trash removal or invasive vegetation removal or control, including incidental ground disturbance, excluding the use of herbicides;

          (S)  Installation of fencing, including associated improvements and incidental structures, for invasive species control or preservation of native habitats on conservation land;

          (T)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of lighting, fixtures, and equipment to establish compliance with current standards at existing public facilities;

          (U)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of security measures, including fencing, to existing public facilities;

          (V)  Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, including work conducted by traditional means near, in, or related to loko iʻa, traditional Hawaiian fishponds; [and]

          (W)  Reconstruction of any lawfully constructed structure that was damaged or destroyed in a disaster proclaimed by the governor to constitute a state of emergency pursuant to chapter 127A, or a disaster declared pursuant to federal law; provided that:

               (i)  The structure is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion;

              (ii)  Reconstruction commences within six years from the date that the proclamation is issued; and

             (iii)  The reconstructed structure is similar to its original footprint or overall dimensions that were existing or permitted and in compliance with the requirements of floodplain management standards; and

          (X)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of an electric vehicle charging system, as defined in chapter 269, including electrical infrastructure and underground utility lines that service the system;

          provided that whenever the authority finds that any excluded use, activity, or operation may have a cumulative impact, or a significant environmental or ecological effect on a special management area, that use, activity, or operation shall be defined as "development" for the purpose of this part."

     SECTION 2.  Section 225P-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:

     "(c)  The department of transportation, office of planning and sustainable development, [and] Hawaii state energy office, and public utilities commission shall:

     (1)  Develop plans in coordination with the clean ground transportation working group and interisland clean transportation working group to ensure that the State's electric charging capacity is sufficient to support the growing use of electric modes of transportation by providing for an increase of the State's electric charging capacity at a rate that exceeds:

          (A)  The rate by which electric vehicle sales are projected to replace internal combustion vehicle sales; and

          (B)  The rate by which other electric transportation options are projected to require charging capacity;

     (2)  Allow continued access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes by electric vehicles until electric vehicles constitute at least forty per cent of all new vehicle sales; and

     (3)  Develop and implement other options to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions transportation.

     (d)  The department of transportation [and], Hawaii state energy office, and public utilities commission may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to effectuate this section."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that the amendments made to the definition of "development" under section 205A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 1 of this Act shall not be repealed when that section is reenacted on July 1, 2028, pursuant to section 5 of Act 304, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025.

Report Title:

PUC; Zero-emission Transportation Goals; Electric Vehicle Infrastructure; Special Management Areas; Exclusion

Description:

Excludes from the definition of "development", as it applies to special management areas, the installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of an electric vehicle charging system as a minor structure.  Includes the Public Utilities Commission in the development and implementation of plans to meet the long‑term goals for zero-emissions transportation in the State.  (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 electric vehicle infrastructure.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 205A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "development" to read as follows:

     ""Development":

     (1)  Means any of the uses, activities, or operations on land or in or under water within a special management area that are included below:

          (A)  Placement or erection of any solid material or any gaseous, liquid, solid, or thermal waste;

          (B)  Grading, removing, dredging, mining, or extraction of any materials;

          (C)  Change in the density or intensity of use of land, including but not limited to the division or subdivision of land;

          (D)  Change in the intensity of use of water, ecology related thereto, or of access thereto; and

          (E)  Construction, reconstruction, or alteration of the size of any structure; and

     (2)  Does not include the following:

          (A)  Construction or reconstruction of a single-family residence that is less than seven thousand five hundred square feet of floor area; is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion; and is not part of a larger development;

          (B)  Repair or maintenance of roads and highways within existing rights-of-way;

          (C)  Routine maintenance dredging of existing streams, channels, and drainage ways;

          (D)  Repair and maintenance of underground utility lines, including but not limited to water, sewer, power, and telephone and minor appurtenant structures including pad mounted transformers and sewer pump stations;

          (E)  Zoning variances, except for height, density, parking, and shoreline setback;

          (F)  Repair, maintenance, or interior alterations to existing structures;

          (G)  Demolition or removal of structures, except those structures located on any historic site as designated in national or state registers;

          (H)  Use of any land for the purpose of cultivating, planting, growing, and harvesting plants, crops, trees, and other agricultural, horticultural, or forestry products or animal husbandry, or aquaculture or mariculture of plants or animals, or other agricultural purposes, including all traditional fishpond and traditional agricultural practices;

          (I)  Transfer of title to land;

          (J)  Creation or termination of easements, covenants, or other rights in structures or land;

          (K)  Subdivision of land into lots greater than twenty acres in size;

          (L)  Subdivision of a parcel of land into four or fewer parcels when no associated construction activities are proposed; provided that any land that is so subdivided shall not thereafter qualify for this exception with respect to any subsequent subdivision of any of the resulting parcels;

          (M)  Installation of underground utility lines and appurtenant aboveground fixtures less than four feet in height along existing corridors;

          (N)  Structural and nonstructural improvements to existing single-family residences, where otherwise permissible;

          (O)  Nonstructural improvements to existing commercial or noncommercial structures;

          (P)  Construction, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of emergency management warning or signal devices and sirens;

          (Q)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of public pedestrian and bicycle facilities, including sidewalks, paths, bikeways, crosswalks, stairs, ramps, traffic control barriers, signs, signals, and associated improvements;

          (R)  Trash removal or invasive vegetation removal or control, including incidental ground disturbance, excluding the use of herbicides;

          (S)  Installation of fencing, including associated improvements and incidental structures, for invasive species control or preservation of native habitats on conservation land;

          (T)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of lighting, fixtures, and equipment to establish compliance with current standards at existing public facilities;

          (U)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of security measures, including fencing, to existing public facilities;

          (V)  Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, including work conducted by traditional means near, in, or related to loko i`a, traditional Hawaiian fishponds; [and]

          (W)  Reconstruction of any lawfully constructed structure that was damaged or destroyed in a disaster proclaimed by the governor to constitute a state of emergency pursuant to chapter 127A, or a disaster declared pursuant to federal law; provided that:

               (i)  The structure is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion;

              (ii)  Reconstruction commences within six years from the date that the proclamation is issued; and

             (iii)  The reconstructed structure is similar to its original footprint or overall dimensions that were existing or permitted and in compliance with the requirements of floodplain management standards; and

          (X)  Construction, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of an electric vehicle charging system, including electrical infrastructure and underground utility lines that service the system, as a minor structure;

          provided that whenever the authority finds that any excluded use, activity, or operation may have a cumulative impact, or a significant environmental or ecological effect on a special management area, that use, activity, or operation shall be defined as "development" for the purpose of this part."

     SECTION 2.  Section 225P-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:

     "(c)  The department of transportation, office of planning and sustainable development, [and] Hawaii state energy office, and public utilities commission shall:

     (1)  Develop plans in coordination with the clean ground transportation working group and interisland clean transportation working group to ensure that the State's electric charging capacity is sufficient to support the growing use of electric modes of transportation by providing for an increase of the State's electric charging capacity at a rate that exceeds:

          (A)  The rate by which electric vehicle sales are projected to replace internal combustion vehicle sales; and

          (B)  The rate by which other electric transportation options are projected to require charging capacity;

     (2)  Allow continued access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes by electric vehicles until electric vehicles constitute at least forty per cent of all new vehicle sales; and

     (3)  Develop and implement other options to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions transportation.

     (d)  The department of transportation [and], Hawaii state energy office, and public utilities commission may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to effectuate this section."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that the amendments made to the definition of "development" under section 205A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 1 of this Act shall not be repealed when that section is reenacted on July 1, 2028, pursuant to section 5 of Act 304, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025.

Report Title:

Zero-emission Transportation Goals; Electric Vehicle Infrastructure; Special Management Areas; Exclusion

Description:

Excludes from the definition of "development", as it applies to special management areas, the construction, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of an electric vehicle charging system as a minor structure.  Includes the Public Utilities Commission in the development and implementation of plans to meet the long-term goals for zero-emissions transportation in the State.

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. 2464

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:     S.B. No. 2434

        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. 2434 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Exclude from the definition of "development", as it applies to special management areas, the construction, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of an electric vehicle charging system as a minor structure; and

     (2)  Include the Public Utilities Commission in the development and implementation of plans to meet the long-term goals for zero-emissions transportation in the State.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Public Utilities Commission, Hawaii Electric Vehicle Association, Hawaiian Electric, and three individuals.

     Your Committees find that increasing demand for zero emissions transportation in the State will require, according to estimates conducted by the Department of Transportation, approximately four thousand additional public electric vehicle charging systems by 2030 to support electric vehicle adoption.  Unfortunately, the State's geography means that many prime locations for public charging infrastructure, including beaches, harbors, and tourism corridors, fall within special management areas that are subject to stringent permitting requirements.  By clarifying certain definitions to exempt these charging systems from special management area permit requirements, this measure will expand electric vehicle charging system deployment to further the State's green energy transportation goals.

     Your Committees note that concerns were raised regarding the location of public electric vehicle charging systems.  Your Committees further note that public electric vehicle charging systems are often in closer proximity to building entrances than stalls that do not have electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by clarifying the term "development" to narrow the scope of the exemption to include the installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of an electric vehicle charging system, as defined in chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, including electrical infrastructure and underground utility lines that service the system.

     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. 2434, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2434, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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