SB 2422 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO HOUSING.

Summary

Establishes the Pro-Housing Score Program to evaluate each county's performance in expanding housing opportunities and reducing regulatory barriers. Requires the counties to publish their respective pro-housing scores online and the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to publish certain related information and data on a public dashboard. Establishes criteria for deeming a county noncompliant. Establishes builder's remedies for certain housing projects in transit-oriented development areas. Specifies that if a county is deemed noncompliant, the planning director or an equivalent county officer responsible for land use approvals shall be responsible for approving or denying certain affordable housing development applications. Establishes procedures for certain transit-oriented development housing project appeals. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Issues: ✓ Housing ✓ Transportation

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB2422 → SB2422_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the legislative metadata to reflect the Senate's first reading (SD1) and amends the text to correct formatting errors, refine definitions, and clarify enforcement language. Most notably, it changes the bill's effective date from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2050, and adds a requirement for the housing corporation to publish an appeals process for noncompliant counties in its rulemaking authority.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on housing production and regulatory reform, but the applicability of the new rules is delayed significantly by changing the effective date.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2050, delaying when the new housing requirements and penalties take effect.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to publish an appeals process for counties deemed noncompliant was added to the list of rules the corporation must adopt.

DEFINITION

Minor wording changes were made to definitions, such as pluralizing 'Transient accommodation' to 'Transient accommodations' and clarifying that transit-supportive density is 'defined' rather than having the 'same meaning' as another section.

ENFORCEMENT

Language was updated to clarify that county officers 'shall be responsible' for approving affordable housing applications in noncompliant counties, rather than just 'is responsible', strengthening the mandatory nature of the duty.

TECHNICAL

Various formatting corrections were made, including fixing inconsistent spacing in section headers, correcting hyphenation in phrases like 'five-year', and standardizing the presentation of dates and 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

Feb 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from HOU/EIG/WLA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2576) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EIG were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, DeCoite, Richards, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WLA recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WLA were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Lee, C., Chang, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Inouye.

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Rhoads, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU/EIG/WLA has scheduled a public hearing on 02-17-26 3:02PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to HOU/EIG/WLA, WAM.

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors