HB 1579 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO LIGHT POLLUTION.

HB 1579 establishes statewide requirements for outdoor lighting fixtures, effective July 1, 2027. The bill directly affects property owners, businesses, and municipalities that install or maintain outdoor lighting across the state. Key provisions mandate specific standards for fixture design, brightness, and direction to reduce unnecessary light emissions. These changes aim to address light pollution by requiring compliant fixtures for all new installations and replacements after the effective date.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1579_HD1 → HB1579_HD2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This revision updates the bill's version number and author information while refining the technical standards for outdoor lighting. The most significant change is the reorganization of the requirements, moving specific turtle nesting exemptions from the main compliance rules into a dedicated subsection to clarify that these fixtures must meet stricter 'Zero Uplight' standards rather than general compliance. Additionally, the definition of 'curfew hours' for commercial users was clarified to explicitly include the time window between closing and sunrise.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains statewide for new outdoor light fixtures, but the applicability of specific exemptions was clarified. The exemption for existing fixtures was slightly tightened by changing the cutoff date from 'prior to' to 'before' June 30, 2026. The relationship between this bill and other lighting laws was also strengthened to ensure the stricter requirements always govern when both apply.

REQUIREMENT

Reorganized the structure of compliance rules, shifting specific turtle nesting standards from the general requirements into a separate subsection to distinguish them from standard fixtures.

Updated turtle nesting lighting standards to require 'Zero Uplight' fixtures on the DLC-LUNA list instead of 'Turtle Lighting' fixtures, ensuring stricter light control.

Added a provision stating that when this bill and another lighting law both apply, the more restrictive requirement must be followed.

DEFINITION

Clarified the definition of 'curfew hours' for commercial users to explicitly state the period extends from closing time until sunrise.

TIMELINE

Refined the exemption language for existing fixtures by changing the phrasing from 'prior to' to 'before' the June 30, 2026 deadline.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Alcos, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting no (2) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 751-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Cochran, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Shimizu; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Garcia; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama.

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 199-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Shimizu; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to WAL, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

15 primary · 0 co-sponsors