SB 3219 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLE VII, SECTIONS 12 AND 13, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION.

Summary

Proposes constitutional amendments to expressly provide that the Legislature may authorize political subdivisions, such as the counties, to issue resilient infrastructure for shelter and equity bonds for specified public works, public improvements, or other actions necessary for housing and community development, and exclude these bonds from determinations of the funded debt of the political subdivisions. (CD1)

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Last action May 8, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB3219_HD2 → SB3219_HD3 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renamed from 'Housing Infrastructure Growth Bonds' to 'Resilient Infrastructure for Shelter and Equity Bonds' to better reflect a focus on community resilience and equity. This change updates the terminology throughout the entire document, including the constitutional text, ballot measure, and official report title, while maintaining the core mechanism of funding public improvements through future property tax growth.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on authorizing counties to issue bonds for housing and community development, but the specific purpose and naming convention have shifted to emphasize resilience and equity.

DEFINITION

The term 'housing infrastructure growth bonds' was replaced with 'resilient infrastructure for shelter and equity bonds' in all sections, including the constitutional definitions and ballot language.

SCOPE

The legislative findings were updated to describe the new bond type as a tool for funding resilient infrastructure that supports shelter and equity, rather than just general housing infrastructure.

REQUIREMENT

The ballot measure language was expanded to explicitly mention 'accountability and oversight requirements' as a condition for the bonds.

TECHNICAL

Administrative metadata, such as document version numbers and timestamps, were updated to reflect the transition from House District 2 to House District 3.

SB3219_HD1 → SB3219_HD2 · 12 edits

MAJOR

This bill version updates the legislative history and author for SB 3219, changing the designation from House Draft 1 to House Draft 2. The substantive text of the bill remains largely the same, with only minor stylistic edits to definitions and punctuation. The most significant policy change is in the proposed constitutional amendment, which shifts the language to explicitly allow the Legislature to authorize counties to issue housing infrastructure growth bonds, clarifying the legislative authority behind the new funding mechanism.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the authorization of housing infrastructure growth bonds was clarified to explicitly require legislative authorization for counties, whereas the previous version implied county authority without explicitly naming the Legislature as the authorizing body.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill header to reflect the new version number (HD2) and changed the author name from Michael Hamasaki to Jeremy Patton.

Minor punctuation adjustments in the section regarding general obligation bonds to clarify the relationship between the legislature and political subdivisions.

Minor punctuation and phrasing adjustments in the section on debt limits to ensure consistency in referring to bonds and issuers.

Minor punctuation adjustments in the section on reimbursable bonds to clarify the conditions for exclusion from debt limits.

Minor stylistic changes in the section on contingent liabilities to clarify the calculation of bond amounts.

Minor punctuation adjustments in the section on bonds for emergencies to clarify the conditions for issuance.

Updated the report title to reflect the new version number (HD2) and reordered the topics for clarity.

DEFINITION

Minor stylistic changes to the definition of 'community development' to improve sentence flow and clarify that the term is limited to capital assets.

Minor stylistic changes to the definition of 'dam and reservoir owner' to improve readability by removing unnecessary commas.

REQUIREMENT

Minor stylistic changes in the section on special purpose revenue bonds to add the word 'the' for grammatical consistency.

Minor stylistic changes in the section on special purpose revenue bond security to clarify the source of payments and receipts.

SCOPE

The proposed constitutional ballot language was modified to explicitly state that the amendment allows the Legislature to authorize counties to issue housing infrastructure growth bonds, clarifying the legislative role in the process.

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 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Alcos excused (1).

lower

May 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 220-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

May 1, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26.

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 220-26).

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Tarnas, Miyake, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Rhoads, Hashimoto, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 05-01-26 10:10AM; Conference Room 224.

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-30-26 10:10AM; Conference Room 224.

upper

Apr 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-29-26 10:10AM; Conference Room 224.

upper

Apr 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-28-26 10:10AM; CR 224.

upper

Apr 24, 2026

Introduced

Notice of the final form of a bill proposing constitutional amendment transmitted to Governor pursuant to Article XVII, Section 3 (Sen. Com. No. 4).

upper

Apr 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-27-26 10:10AM; Conference Room 224.

upper

Apr 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Friday, 04-24-26 10:10AM in conference room 224.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 763).

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with Representative(s) Garcia, Gedeon, Iwamoto, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Cochran voting no (1) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Apr 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos, Gedeon; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Hussey.

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4).

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1551-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Kahaloa, Takayama, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Garcia; Noes: none; and 4 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Hashem, Sayama, Cochran.

lower

Mar 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1312-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Grandinetti, Kila, Kitagawa; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Muraoka, Pierick; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Cochran; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) La Chica.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to HSG, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 382).

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Notice of bill proposing constitutional amendment transmitted to Governor pursuant to Article XVII, Section 3 (Sen. Com. No. 2).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC/WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-04-26 10:35AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to JDC/WAM.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from EIG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2455) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading and referral to JDC/WAM.

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in EIG were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) DeCoite, Richards.

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EIG has scheduled a public hearing on 02-17-26 3:05PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to EIG, JDC/WAM.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

3 primary · 1 co-sponsor