HB 224 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO PROPERTY RIGHTS.

Summary

Establishes a procedure for immediately removing an unlawful occupant of a dwelling or premises with assistance from law enforcement. Provides that an unlawful occupant of a dwelling or premises is civilly liable for unpaid utility bills. Provides that a person who trespasses in or upon a dwelling or premises and intentionally or knowingly damages property in an amount exceeding $999 commits a felony of criminal property damage in the second degree. Requires the Department of the Attorney General to develop, publish, and make available a complaint form to remove unlawful occupants of residential dwellings. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

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What changed between versions

HB224 → HB224_HD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the legislative metadata, including the bill title, sponsor, and effective date. Substantively, it modifies the removal process for unlawful occupants by clarifying eligibility criteria, adding a new offense for instigating wrongful removal, and extending the time a law enforcement officer can stay to help change locks. It also changes the effective date of the act to July 1, 3000.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding property rights and trespass remains largely the same, but the specific conditions for law enforcement assistance and the penalties for misuse of the process have been refined.

TIMELINE

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

ELIGIBILITY

The conditions for requesting law enforcement removal were clarified, and a new condition was added to exclude current or former tenants without explicitly listing immediate family members as a separate exclusion in the main list.

ENFORCEMENT

A new offense called 'instigation of wrongful removal' was created to penalize owners who knowingly submit fraudulent complaints or include false information.

REQUIREMENT

The process for law enforcement officers to stand by and assist with changing locks was updated to clarify that the owner or their authorized agent must make the request.

TECHNICAL

Various formatting and metadata changes were made, including updates to the bill title, sponsor name, and document identifiers.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 7, 2025

Committee

Reported from CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 251) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Kong, Lowen, Marten, Tam, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to CPC, JHA, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

13 primary · 0 co-sponsors