HB 1616 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Summary

Clarifies that the disposition of agricultural park lots for commercial activity may occur after the initial development of the agricultural park and regardless of whether the applicable county council approved plans and specifications for the future disposition of lots for commercial activity, with certain exceptions. Authorizes the care and production of swine and swine products within certain agricultural parks and under certain conditions. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2026 Last action Mar 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1616_HD1 → HB1616_SD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill update changes the bill version from House Draft 1 to Senate Draft 1, updating metadata such as sponsors and revision numbers. The substantive policy change adds a requirement for the state department to consult with local county governments before approving new commercial activities within agricultural parks, ensuring local input is considered. Additionally, the text of the bill was updated to spell out large population numbers (e.g., 'two hundred thousand') instead of using numerals.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding commercial activities in agricultural parks was modified to include a mandatory consultation process with county councils.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for the state department to provide notice to and consult with applicable counties before approving new commercial activities in agricultural parks, including an opportunity for county comment.

TECHNICAL

Updated population thresholds in the text from numerals (e.g., '200,000') to written words (e.g., 'two hundred thousand').

Changed the bill version identifier from 'HD1' to 'SD1' and updated associated metadata including sponsors and revision numbers.

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

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from AEN/WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3243) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 20, 2026

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

Mar 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Chang, Lamosao; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Inouye, DeCorte.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on AEN/WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 03-20-26 1:03PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to AEN/WLA, WAM.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 142).

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Iwamoto voting no (1) and Representative(s) Perruso, Sayama excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 4, 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; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 540-26), recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Iwamoto; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Poepoe.

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 5-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL.

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Chun, Kusch, Kahaloa, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to AGR, WAL, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

7 primary · 0 co-sponsors