HB 1881 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO LAND USE.

HB 1881 prohibits the construction and operation of passenger ropeways on mountain lands within all designated land use districts across the state. This bill directly affects developers, landowners, and tourism operators seeking to build such infrastructure in mountainous areas. The key provision bans ropeways universally in all land use districts, removing exceptions for specific zones or projects. The bill is currently pending a committee hearing (WAL) as of February 2026, with no final action taken yet.

Issues: ✗ Transportation

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Signed Jun 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1881_SD1 → HB1881_SD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to narrow the prohibition on passenger ropeways from applying to all land use districts to applying only to public property. This change clarifies that private ropeways on private land remain unaffected, while restricting such operations on government-owned land. The amendment also includes minor formatting adjustments to the definitions of ropeway terms and updates the bill's metadata.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from a blanket ban on passenger ropeways in all land use districts to a specific ban only on public property within those districts.

SCOPE

Changed the prohibition on passenger ropeways from 'all land use districts' to 'public property in all land use districts'.

DEFINITION

Adjusted the definition of 'passenger ropeway' to use singular 'element' instead of plural 'elements' and removed the word 'with' before 'contact' in the definition of 'aerial tramway'.

Simplified the definition of 'commercial funicular' by removing the phrase 'on which carriers are supported and guided by a guideway'.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata including the sponsor name, page numbers, and effective date timestamps.

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 none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

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

Apr 29, 2026

Introduced

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

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 85-26).

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 85-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lamosao.

upper

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 3 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Tarnas, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Quinlan.

lower

Apr 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-28-26 9:00AM; CR 229.

upper

Apr 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-27-26 9:00AM; CR 229.

upper

Apr 16, 2026

Amended

House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 634) 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 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa.

upper

Apr 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3248) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Mar 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Inouye, Chang, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 03-16-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to WLA, JDC.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 310).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Kong, Pierick excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti, Cochran.

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 266-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

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

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 2

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

14 primary · 0 co-sponsors