HB 2017 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Summary

Establishes a nonrefundable income tax credit for certain agricultural investment costs incurred for agricultural activities conducted on Hawaiian home lands. Applies to costs incurred after 12/31/2026. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Mar 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2017_HD3 → HB2017_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to shift administrative oversight from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, which now holds the power to certify tax credits. This change clarifies that the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity must verify taxpayer eligibility before any credit is claimed, while the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is moved to an advisory role for rule-making. Additionally, the effective date language was slightly adjusted to apply to costs incurred after a specific date rather than just taxable years.

Scope change

Administrative authority over the tax credit certification process was transferred from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity.

ENFORCEMENT

The department responsible for certifying tax credits changed from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement mandates that no tax credit can be claimed unless the taxpayer is explicitly certified by the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity.

The rule-making authority was updated to involve the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity in consultation with the Department of Taxation, rather than the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

TIMELINE

The effective date clause was changed to specify that the Act applies to costs incurred after December 31, 2026, rather than taxable years beginning after that date.

HB2017_HD1 → HB2017_HD2 · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from HD1 to HD2 and updated with new administrative dates. The most significant policy change is the expansion of the tax credit's eligibility to include a broader range of agricultural activities, such as livestock, aquaculture, and commercial farming, rather than just subsistence or pastoral use. Additionally, the definition of an 'eligible taxpayer' was broadened to allow activities on Hawaiian home lands under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, removing the previous restriction to only subsistence, supplemental, or pastoral use.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a narrow focus on subsistence and pastoral agriculture to include commercial agricultural, silvicultural, and aquacultural operations.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded eligibility to include commercial agricultural, silvicultural, and aquacultural facilities, moving beyond just subsistence or pastoral use.

Broadened the definition of eligible taxpayers to include any person conducting agricultural, pastoral, aquacultural, or commercial activities on Hawaiian home lands pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new provision stating that no other tax credit can be claimed for qualified agricultural investment costs if a credit is claimed under this section.

Added a new provision clarifying that the cost basis for the tax credit is determined at the entity level, with specific rules for pass-through entities like partnerships and S corporations.

Added a new provision requiring all tax credit claims to be filed within 12 months after the close of the taxable year, with failure to do so resulting in a waiver of the credit.

DEFINITION

Added a detailed definition of 'agricultural business' listing specific activities including livestock care, crop processing, and farming in controlled environments.

Modified the definition of 'eligible taxpayer' to remove the restriction limiting activities to subsistence, supplemental, or pastoral use.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from AEN/HWN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3342) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HWN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HWN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Richards, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara, Keohokalole.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Richards, Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) DeCoite, Awa.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN/HWN has scheduled a public hearing on 03-24-26 2:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to AEN/HWN, WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 342).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 748-26) 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: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Cochran, Garcia, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama.

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 174-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Chun, Kusch, Kahaloa, Perruso, Quinlan, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Lowen.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to AGR, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors