HB 1652 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.

Summary

Exempts agricultural infrastructure and low-risk green stormwater infrastructure from regulations covering retention ponds. Defines agricultural infrastructure and low-risk green stormwater infrastructure. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✗ Environment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Feb 25, 2026

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What changed between versions

HB1652 → HB1652_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated to reflect House District 1 (HD1) amendments, changing the bill title and sponsor information. The most significant policy change is the redefinition of 'agricultural ponds' to 'agricultural infrastructure,' broadening the scope of the exemption to include other agricultural structures beyond just ponds. Additionally, the effective date of the law was drastically changed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 3000, effectively delaying the implementation of these regulations indefinitely.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded by changing the term 'agricultural ponds' to 'agricultural infrastructure,' allowing more types of agricultural facilities to be exempt from stormwater safety regulations. The applicability timeline was also altered to remove the 2026 effective date.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'agricultural ponds' was changed to 'agricultural infrastructure' to broaden the exemption from stormwater regulations.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 3000, indefinitely postponing the law's enforcement.

SCOPE

The bill title and description were updated to reflect the change from 'agricultural ponds' to 'agricultural infrastructure'.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 238-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

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, Poepoe, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto, Shimizu; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to 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