HB 1638 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO PROPERTY DAMAGES.

Summary
Limits claims alleging property damage from covered catastrophic wildfires to actual damages. Amends the aggregate liability limit for qualifying damages from covered catastrophic wildfires to be $1,000,000,000, rather than administratively established by the Public Utilities Commission, and makes the limit applicable only to property covered by a property insurance policy up to the coverage limit. Requires the Director of Emergency Management to determine whether a wildfire is a covered catastrophic wildfire. Specifies that claims subject to the limit must be filed within one year of the covered catastrophic wildfire. Clarifies that a property and casualty insurer's rights to subrogation are not limited in the context of an insured's recovery by judgment or settlement of a third-party tort claim.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Jan 26, 2026
Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jan 26, 2026
Committee
Referred to EEP, CPC/JHA, FIN, referral sheet 1
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Introduced
Prefiled.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Scot Matayoshi
Scot Matayoshi
DDemocratic
HI
49