HB 1740 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE HAWAII HOUSING FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

Summary
Repeals the prohibition against qualified residents for Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation-approved projects holding a majority interest in land and repeals the requirement that qualified residents demonstrate financial viability or ability to pay rent. Limits a qualified resident from owning a majority interest in no more than one property suitable for dwelling purposes, but requiring the disposal of such property within two years. Amends exemptions from statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules for certain housing projects developed by the Corporation that satisfy certain conditions, including requirements related to employment, owner-occupancy, and deed restrictions. (CD1)
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jul 2026
Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Signed Jul 9, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1740_SD1 HB1740_SD2 · 5 edits
MODERATE
This bill updates Hawaii's affordable housing rules to allow more flexibility for families moving to larger units and clarifies what counts as a hardship for owners. It also adds a new financial screening requirement, limiting eligibility to people whose assets do not exceed the value of the home they are buying or renting.
Scope change
The bill applies to housing projects approved by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, specifically modifying how 'qualified residents' are defined and treated under existing deed restrictions.
REQUIREMENT

Removed the requirement that deed-restricted units must be permanently owner-occupied, allowing them to be rented long-term after an initial occupancy period to help families move to larger units.

Expanded the definition of 'hardship' to explicitly include temporary absences for hospitalization, rehabilitation, or medically necessary care, preventing these situations from violating deed restrictions.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new eligibility criterion (Section 4(4)) requiring that a qualified resident must not own assets or property with a total value exceeding the value of the dwelling unit being purchased or rented.

DEFINITION

Reorganized the definition of 'qualified resident' for market-priced units in economically integrated projects, separating the new asset limit requirement from other criteria.

TIMELINE

Updated the effective date of the Act from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2026.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
55
Key actions
20
Committee
19
Amendments
3
May 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Belatti, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Grandinetti, Iwamoto, Muraoka, Perruso voting no (8) and none excused (0).
lower
May 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Dela Cruz, McKelvey. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Fukunaga).
upper
Apr 29, 2026
Introduced
48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-01-26
upper
Apr 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 29-26).
upper
Apr 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 29-26) as amended in (CD 1).
lower
Apr 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Hashem, Miyake; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Cochran; and 0 Excused: none.
lower
Apr 28, 2026
Upper · Passed
The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Elefante, Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
upper
Apr 27, 2026
Lower · Passed
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-28-26 10:05AM in conference room 224.
lower
Apr 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Monday 04-27-26 10:05AM in conference room 224.
lower
Apr 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 04-24-26 10:05AM in conference room 224.
lower
Apr 16, 2026
Amended
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
lower
Apr 14, 2026
Introduced
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 616) in amended form (SD 2).
lower
Apr 14, 2026
Upper · Passed
Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) DeCorte). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
upper
Apr 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-01-26 10:03AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Committee
Reported from HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3208) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
upper
Mar 17, 2026
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, Elefante, Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
The committee(s) on HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 1:05PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Committee
Referred to HOU, WAM.
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Introduced
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 279).
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Cochran voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia voting no (1) and Representative(s) Pierick excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 539-26), recommending referral to FIN.
lower
Feb 17, 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, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Poepoe.
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Committee
Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 116-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Grandinetti, Kila, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Cochran; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kitagawa.
lower
Jan 26, 2026
Committee
Referred to HSG, WAL, FIN, referral sheet 1
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Introduced
Prefiled.
lower
15 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors