HB 2147 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES VIII AND X OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF HAWAII TO AUTHORIZE THE LEGISLATURE TO ESTABLISH A SURCHARGE ON RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENT PROPERTY TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION.

Summary

Proposes amendments to the Hawaii State Constitution to repeal the counties' exclusive power to tax real property, and to authorize the Legislature to establish a state surcharge on real property taxes levied by the counties on certain residential investment properties, for the purpose of helping to fund public education for all of Hawaii's children and adults. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 26, 2026 Last action Mar 10, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2147_HD1 → HB2147_HD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised from House District 1 to House District 2, updating administrative metadata and refining the legislative findings regarding aging school facilities. The most significant change is the expansion of the ballot question to explicitly amend the State Constitution, granting the legislature authority to override county exclusive powers over real property taxation. Additionally, the definition of the surcharge was clarified to apply only to an 'existing tax' rather than a new charge, and the exemption for affordable housing was moved to the definition section for clarity.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a potential new tax to a constitutional amendment that repeals counties' exclusive authority to tax real property, allowing the state to impose a surcharge on high-value residential investments.

REQUIREMENT

The ballot question was rewritten to explicitly authorize a constitutional amendment that repeals counties' exclusive power to tax real property.

DEFINITION

The surcharge definition was changed from an 'additional charge' to an 'additional amount imposed on an existing tax', clarifying that it applies to current property taxes.

The exemption for affordable housing was moved from the surcharge section to the definition of 'residential investment property' for better structural organization.

TECHNICAL

Administrative metadata, including bill numbers, dates, and internal reference codes, were updated to reflect the transition from HD1 to HD2.

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

Amendments

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to EIG/EDU, WAM/JDC.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 188).

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Notice of a bill proposing constitutional amendment in the form of (HD 2) transmitted to Governor pursuant to Article XVII, Section 3.

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Reyes Oda, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Garcia, Gedeon, Kong, Matsumoto, Pierick voting no (7) and Representative(s) Perruso, Quinlan, Sayama excused (3). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hussey, Kitagawa, Kusch, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Lee, M., Miyake, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Alcos; 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) Cochran, Gedeon, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (4) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 753-26) 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: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Kahaloa, Takayama; Ayes with reservations: none; 3 Noes: Representative(s) Cochran, Garcia, Shimizu; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Hashem, Sayama.

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 206-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDN, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 5

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

10 primary · 0 co-sponsors