HB 376 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO CESSPOOLS.

Summary

Accelerates the deadlines for the required upgrades, conversions, or connections of priority level 1 and priority level 2 cesspools to 2035 and 2040, respectively, and repeals the 1/1/2050 deadline for the upgrade, conversion, or connection of all remaining cesspools. Before 1/1/2050, requires the Director of Health to prepare and submit to the Legislature an inventory of every remaining cesspool in the State as of 1/1/2045, including cesspools that were granted exemptions by the Director of Health, recommending whether or not and by what date the cesspool should be: (1) Upgraded or converted to a Director-approved wastewater system; or (2) Connected to a sewerage system. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Last action Feb 18, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB376_HD1 → HB376_HD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill revision shifts the primary focus from accelerating cesspool upgrade deadlines to repealing the 2050 deadline for remaining cesspools. It mandates a new inventory process requiring the Director of Health to assess all remaining cesspools by 2045 and recommend specific upgrade or connection dates, replacing the previous blanket deadline with a case-by-case approach.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from solely accelerating deadlines for priority levels 1 and 2 to include a comprehensive review and management plan for all remaining cesspools in the state.

TIMELINE

Removed the specific 2040 deadline for upgrading priority level 2 cesspools.

Added a directive for the Director of Health to recommend specific upgrade or connection dates for each remaining cesspool based on the new inventory.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for the Director of Health to create an inventory of every remaining cesspool by January 1, 2045, including those previously exempt.

ENFORCEMENT

Changed the enforcement mechanism from a fixed statutory deadline to a director-led recommendation process for remaining cesspools.

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

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Kila, Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon, Muraoka, Pierick voting no (5) and none excused (0).

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 453-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Committee

Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 106) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Kahaloa, Kusch, Quinlan; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Ward.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to EEP, WAL, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors