SB 2816 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO STATE ENTERPRISE ZONES.

Summary

Expands the definition of "eligible business activity" for the purposes of the Enterprise Zone Program to include certain research and development activities and information technology design and production services. Authorizes the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to declare up to two census tracts in the State that contain an innovation enterprise to be designated as an enterprise zone, subject to the Governor's approval. Requires DBEDT to conduct an in-house comprehensive review, in consultation with the Department of Taxation, of the State Enterprise Zones Program and requires a report to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Apr 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2816_HD1 → SB2816_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised to update the bill number and author information, correct a grammatical error in the legislative findings, and adjust the effective date from the year 3000 to 2050. The substantive policy content regarding enterprise zones and eligible business activities remains unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain the same; only the effective date was moved forward significantly.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the Act was changed from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2050.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and author names were updated from House Draft 1 to Senate Draft 1.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the list of purposes and the description of the comprehensive review requirement.

DEFINITION

A grammatical error was fixed in the legislative findings section by removing the word 'further'.

SB2816 → SB2816_HD1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill fundamentally shifts the Hawaii Enterprise Zones program from a location-based system tied to specific universities to a broader initiative focused on designated 'innovation enterprises.' It expands eligibility to include research and IT services, adds a new definition for innovation enterprises, and requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to conduct a comprehensive review of the program.

Scope change

The bill expands the program's scope by removing the requirement that zones must contain the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine or the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Instead, it allows the state to designate up to two census tracts containing any 'innovation enterprise' across the state.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'innovation enterprise' covering biomedical research, life sciences, medical technology, pharmaceutical manufacturing, aerospace, space domain awareness, and IT design and production services.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded the definition of 'eligible business activity' to explicitly include research and development activities and information technology design and production services.

Removed the specific requirement that enterprise zones must contain the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine or the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.

Removed the 'affiliated collaborator' provision that allowed businesses outside the zone to qualify for benefits if they had a contract with a business inside a university zone.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandate for the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to conduct an in-house comprehensive review of the program in consultation with the Department of Taxation and report findings to the legislature.

SCOPE

Changed the designation process to allow the state department to declare up to two census tracts containing an innovation enterprise as enterprise zones, subject to the governor's approval, rather than counties applying for zones containing specific universities.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the Act to July 1, 3000.

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

Apr 10, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 521).

upper

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Apr 7, 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; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Committee

Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1325-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Tam, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to ECD, FIN, referral sheet 17

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 305) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 03-04-26 10:31AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

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 EDT/EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2693) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Fukunaga, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani.

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT/EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 02-17-26 1:01PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDT/EDU, WAM.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

3 primary · 1 co-sponsor