SB 456 Hawaii Senate · 2025 Regular Session

RELATING TO BED BUGS.

SB 456 requires landlords to keep rental units free of bed bugs throughout the entire tenancy period, directly affecting landlords and tenants in residential properties. The bill mandates proactive maintenance by landlords rather than just addressing infestations after they occur. This policy change aims to protect tenants from bed bug exposure by making landlords responsible for prevention and ongoing control during occupancy. The bill passed committee with amendments and is now moving toward final passage.

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Last action Feb 10, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB456 → SB456_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reformatted from a draft Senate version to a standardized SD1 template, but the substantive policy language was significantly rewritten. The original version focused on landlord inspection duties and notification requirements, while the new version adds a legal finding that bed bug infestations violate the implied warranty of habitability and requires landlords to ensure premises are free of bed bugs at all times during tenancy.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from specific procedural requirements for landlords to include a broader legal standard that treats bed bug infestations as a violation of habitability, potentially strengthening tenant protections and landlord obligations.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new legal finding that bed bug infestations violate the implied warranty of habitability, elevating the issue from a procedural matter to a fundamental tenant right.

Changed the landlord obligation from specific inspection and notification procedures to a continuous duty to ensure the premises remains free of bed bugs throughout the tenancy.

DEFINITION

Removed specific cost-sharing provisions between landlords and tenants for remediation, replacing them with a blanket requirement for landlords to ensure bed bug-free conditions.

TECHNICAL

Converted document from draft Senate format to standardized SD1 template with metadata and revision tracking information.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 10, 2025

Committee

Reported from HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 133) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPN.

upper

Jan 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Kanuha, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Aquino.

upper

Jan 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 01-30-25 1:10PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to HOU, CPN.

upper

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor