SB 501 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO CESSPOOLS.

Summary

Requires the Department of Health, to the extent allowable under federal law, to prioritize the use of Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund moneys for projects by homeowners to upgrade cesspools to director-approved wastewater systems or connect homeowners' properties to sewerage systems, including projects for the installation of cluster systems or community package plants. Effective 12/31/2050. (SD1)

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB501 → SB501_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a House bill (HB) to a Senate bill (SB) and updated with new metadata. The most significant policy change is the effective date, which was moved from immediate approval to December 31, 2050, likely to align with the timeline for phasing out cesspools. A minor formatting change was made to the title, changing 'RELATING' to 'RELATING TO'.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on cesspool regulation, but the applicability of the new rules is delayed until 2050.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from 'upon approval' to 'December 31, 2050', delaying when the new requirements for cesspool upgrades or sewer connections must be implemented.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated from 'RELATING' to 'RELATING TO' for grammatical consistency.

Metadata regarding the bill type was changed from 'HB template' to 'SD Template', reflecting its transfer to the Senate.

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

Feb 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Committee

Reported from HHS/AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 400) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Jan 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HHS were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) San Buenaventura, Aquino, Hashimoto; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fevella.

upper

Jan 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, DeCoite, Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Richards, Awa.

upper

Jan 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HHS/AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 01-31-25 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to HHS/AEN, WAM.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

7 primary · 0 co-sponsors