SB 179 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO REMEDIES.

Summary

Clarifies the applicability of the statute of repose for actions arising from construction defects. Clarifies the required contents of a notice of claim of construction defect served on a contractor. Amends the process and time frame for a claimant to accept a contractor's offer to settle or inspect and authorize the contractor to proceed with repairs. Limits the amount a claimant can recover if the claimant rejects a contractor's reasonable proposal for inspection or a reasonable offer to remedy. Clarifies the consequences of rejecting an offer of settlement. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

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What changed between versions

SB179 → SB179_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the effective date of the Contractor Repair Act from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2050, likely to allow more time for the new dispute resolution processes to be implemented. It also rewrites the legislative findings to clarify that the housing crisis is driven by litigation costs and insurance requirements, and it modifies the inspection process to give contractors more control over scheduling repairs.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on construction defect disputes, but the timeline for enforcement is significantly extended, and the procedural rules for inspections and settlements are clarified to favor early resolution.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2050, delaying when the new rules apply.

REQUIREMENT

The process for accepting inspection proposals was rewritten to remove specific bracketed language regarding claimant obligations, simplifying the steps a claimant must take to authorize an inspection.

The bill now explicitly states that rejecting a contractor's reasonable offer to settle or inspect limits the amount a claimant can recover, clarifying the consequences of refusing a settlement.

DEFINITION

The legislative findings were updated to emphasize that high housing costs are caused by litigation and insurance costs, and to specify that the doctrine of fraudulent concealment does not apply to the ten-year statute of limitations.

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 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from CPN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 507) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Feb 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in CPN were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, McKelvey, Richards; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Fukunaga ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-10-25 9:35AM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Committee

Referred to CPN, JDC.

upper

Jan 15, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 13, 2025

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors