HB 1650 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS.

HB 1650 removes the requirement for environmental assessments under Hawaii Revised Statutes §343-5 for proposed actions within the Waikiki special district. This change directly affects developers and projects in Waikiki by exempting them from the standard environmental review process. The bill’s key provision eliminates the need for these assessments, effective July 1, 3000. This is a specific regulatory change targeting projects in that designated area only.

Issues: ✗ Environment

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 10, 2026

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What changed between versions

HB1650 → HB1650_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill revision simplifies the scope of environmental assessment exemptions by removing the requirement to list 'historic sites' separately, as that category is now covered under a general provision for historic sites. The primary substantive change is the removal of the specific exemption for the Waikiki special district from the bill's title and summary, while the actual text of the law still exempts Waikiki from these assessments. Additionally, the effective date of the law was changed from immediate approval to July 1, 3000.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed in its description by removing the explicit mention of historic sites as a separate category of exemption, though the law itself still protects historic sites under a broader clause. The applicability to the Waikiki special district remains exempt from environmental assessments.

REQUIREMENT

The specific exemption for historic sites was removed from the list of proposed actions requiring exemptions, as it is now covered under a general clause for historic sites.

The specific exemption for the Waikiki special district was removed from the bill's title and summary description, though the operative text still exempts it.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from upon approval to July 1, 3000.

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

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to WLA, JDC.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 31).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Reyes Oda, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Amato, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Tam voting no (5) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Perruso, Alcos; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Tam voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Amato voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lee, M., Poepoe excused (3).

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 340-26), recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Ichiyama, Woodson; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Belatti, Poepoe, Shimizu, Souza; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Iwamoto; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Committee

Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 29-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Chun, Kahaloa, Kusch, Quinlan, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to EEP, WAL, 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