All new state laws stemming from bills passed by Hawaii’s Legislature earlier this year are now on the books.
Gov. Josh Green signed six bills Wednesday to cap off decisions on 322 measures sent to him by lawmakers during the legislative session that ran from Jan. 15 to May 2.
Of the 322 bills, Green signed 307 and let one become law without his signature. He also vetoed eight bills, not including the state budget bill where he used his line-item veto power to strike a few specific spending items. And Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke signed five bills as acting governor.
“This legislative session delivered many important wins, and I’m deeply grateful to the Hawaii State Legislature for championing measures that serve our people and protect our aina (land),” Green said in a statement. “At the same time, we faced real challenges, especially the uncertainty of federal funding, which put critical lifelines for our communities at risk.”
One of the last bills signed by Green on Wednesday was the focus of a ceremony in the governor’s office at the state Capitol and was described by advocates as resolving a problem in Hawaii’s homebuilding industry that in some instances added costs to new housing, halted construction and held up purchases.
House Bill 420, now Act 308, reforms a statutory process for contractors to resolve home construction defect claims.
Developers contended that projects were being subjected to litigation by predatory attorneys through loopholes instead of mediation intended by long-existing state law, and delaying work to fix defects when needed.
Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, said the final version of what he called a complicated bill resulted in an “elusive compromise” between opposing stakeholders who were for or against earlier versions of the measure.
“Ultimately, both sides were happy with what we came up with,” Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua) said during the signing ceremony.
Supporters of HB 420, including Green, said the new law amending what is known as the Contractor Repair Act, strengthens consumer protections that were intended in the old statute and exploited by attorneys.
Rep. Lisa Marten (D, KailuaLanikai-Waimanalo) said the Contractor Repair Act was supposed to create a collaborative process to resolve home construction defects but wasn’t working and allowed attorneys to go “fishing” for defects through litigation that was leading to added costs for homes because of higher insurance premiums and other expenses for developers.
“It’s backfiring,” she said of the preexisting law.
Tracy Tonaki, Hawaii division vice president for Texas-based homebuilder D.R. Horton, thanked lawmakers for their work and applauded Green for signing the bill to address an issue that she said had grown over the past two decades.
“This legislation brings critical reform to the Contractor Repair Act by prioritizing cooperation and timely resolution over costly and prolonged litigation,” she said.
Tonaki during a February hearing on the bill said D.R. Horton had held off building 800 homes permitted for construction because they would be added to an existing class-action lawsuit for homes of similar design.
Single-family subdivisions, townhome complexes and high-rise condominiums have been subject to such litigation, with alleged defects ranging from cosmetic issues such as peeling paint, to life and safety concerns such as a structural weakness.
A University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization report said at least 17,555 new Hawaii homes over the past 25 years, or 702 homes annually on average, have been subject to construction defect litigation.
UHERO’s report, commissioned by the nonprofit Hawaii HomeOwnership Center, also said such litigation has involved nearly 1 in 4 homes built in Hawaii from 2013 to 2023, representing twice as much as there was in the prior 10-year period.
The last bill signed Wednesday also was related to housing. Senate Bill 1170, now Act 313, eases the approval process for rebuilding permanently affordable multi-family rental housing in shoreline areas if substantially destroyed in a natural disaster by giving county planning department directors the authority to issue special management area use permits.
Among eight bills vetoed by Green was one that would have allowed a public or private entity to pay to have their name on the Hawai‘i Convention Center and a planned replacement of Aloha Stadium.
Green raised a concern about SB 583 violating a provision in Hawaii’s Constitution limiting bills to one subject pertaining to the bill’s title. The title of SB 583 is “Naming Rights,” but the bill also exempts stadium and convention center concessions from typical procurement procedures.
Other bills stopped from becoming law by the governor included one to regulate high-speed electric bicycles and motorcycles on Hawaii roads.
Green told lawmakers in written veto messages that this measure, HB 958, failed to exempt electric cars from a definition of “high-speed electric devices” prohibited from driving on public roadways.
House Speaker Nadine Nakamura and Senate President Ron Kouchi have said they don’t plan to convene a special session to consider overriding any vetoes.
The one bill that became law this year without the governor’s signature stopped regulations established in 2019 to regulate midwives and the practice of midwifery in Hawaii from sunsetting last month, making them permanent. HB 1194, which became Act 28 on May 5, also affirmed that Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices do not constitute the practice of midwifery.
Green signed most bills without fanfare, but drew special attention to more than a few that were part of 13 ceremonies in his office where key stakeholders and lawmakers were recognized for their work.
Some of the celebrated bills establish an environmental improvement fee to be paid by hotel guests and cruise ship passengers starting next year (SB 1396), expand access to free school meals for Hawaii public school students (SB 1300), improve laws against illegal fireworks (HB 1483), and staff up a new Office of the State Fire Marshal (HB 1064).
“It was the foresight and resilience of our communities — and our willingness to listen — that helped move many of these bills across the finish line,” Green said.