HB 2151 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO BUILDING MATERIALS.

Summary

Specifies that no state or county building code shall prohibit the use of hempcrete as a non-structural building material. Authorizes building officials to approve hempcrete construction that meets applicable safety and performance standards. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 26, 2026 Last action Mar 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB2151_HD1 → HB2151_HD2 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated from House District 1 to House District 2, reflecting a revision in the legislative process. The primary substantive change clarifies that building codes may not prohibit hempcrete, but specifically restricts this protection to its use as a non-structural building material. Additionally, the definition of hempcrete was simplified by removing the specific mention of 'hemp-lime' while retaining the core description of the bio-composite material.

Scope change

The scope of the building code exemption was narrowed to explicitly apply only to non-structural uses of hempcrete, rather than covering all uses of the material.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that the prohibition on banning hempcrete applies only when used as a non-structural building material.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of hempcrete to remove the specific term 'hemp-lime' from the description.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill metadata including author name, page numbers, and revision identifiers.

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

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to PSM/EIG, JDC/WAM.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 367).

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. 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. 269-26) 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, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 5

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

19 primary · 0 co-sponsors