HB 2241 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Summary

Amends the Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit by: Limiting claims for certain solar energy systems that are not third-party financed systems and installed and placed in service on a single-family residential property to taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $175,000 or less if filing as an individual, $262,500 or less if filing as a head of household, or $350,000 or less if filing jointly; increasing the maximum adjusted gross income an individual taxpayer must be below in order to be eligible to have any excess credits refunded and limiting credit refundability to systems that are not third-party financed systems; and prohibiting a taxpayer from claiming a credit for a renewable energy technology system installed and placed in service on a residential property where the taxpayer has claimed a credit in prior taxable years. Applies to taxable years beginning after 12/31/2026. Sunsets 1/1/2029. (SD2)

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 26, 2026 Last action May 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2241_SD1 → HB2241_SD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Hawaii's solar tax credit rules to better target low- and moderate-income families while adding a one-time limit to prevent repeated claims. It lowers income thresholds for eligibility, introduces a new income bracket for head-of-household filers, and caps the total credit amount for non-financed systems. Additionally, it adds a 'one-time only' rule preventing taxpayers from claiming the credit on the same property more than once.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the tax credit by adding a new income bracket for head-of-household filers and introduces a new prohibition on claiming credits for systems installed on properties where the taxpayer has previously claimed the credit.

ELIGIBILITY

Income limits for the solar tax credit were lowered from $250,000 to $175,000 for individuals and $350,000 to $262,500 for heads of household, while the joint filing limit remains at $350,000.

REQUIREMENT

A new restriction prohibits taxpayers from claiming the tax credit for a renewable energy system on a residential property if they have already claimed a credit for that property in prior years.

FISCAL

The cap on tax credits for solar systems that are not third-party financed was changed from 'no cap' to a fixed limit of $5,000 per system.

TIMELINE

The effective date was changed from July 1, 3000, to the date of the bill's approval, with a specific sunset provision repealing the new rules on January 1, 2029.

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

Amendments

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 5:45PM in Conference Room 411.

lower

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 05-01-26 at 4:40PM in Conference Room 411.

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 05-01-26 3:00PM in conference room 325.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 666) in amended form (SD 2).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). 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, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..

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 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Reported from EIG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3112) 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 EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EIG were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, DeCoite, Richards; 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 EIG has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 3:01PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to EIG, WAM.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 197).

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting no (2) and Representative(s) Perruso, Sayama excused (2). 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: 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; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 724-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to EEP, FIN, referral sheet 5

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors