# Hawaii HB 1737: RELATING TO FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING.

Hawaii HB 1737, RELATING TO FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) House bill sponsored by Luke A. Evslin (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-05-26 (Act 034, 05/26/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1134).); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1737-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii HB 1737
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-20
- Last action: 2026-05-26, Act 034, 05/26/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1134).
- Sponsor: Luke A. Evslin (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 19
- Subjects: Agriculture, Agricultural Districts, Zoning, Farm Dwelling, Farm Employee Housing, AEN/HOU, JDC
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 14 (249 yes, 4 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Clarifies the allowable uses within agricultural districts with respect to farm dwellings and farm employee housing. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD2)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New housing options for farm workers: mixed, low. The law allows homes for farm workers on agricultural land. Each farm employee housing unit can have up to 800 square feet of living space and must be accessory to a farm. Counties may limit residents to active farm workers and their immediate families. In plantation subdivisions, residents must me…
- New tourism options for working farms: mixed, low. Farm operators can run agricultural tourism activities on a parcel with a farm dwelling, subject to county rules. The activities must stay secondary to farming and cannot take place inside farm employee housing. Overnight stays can last up to 21 days per stay in counties with at least three islands…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Luke A. Evslin (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Terez Amato (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Ikaika Hussey (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Greggor Ilagan (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kim Coco Iwamoto (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY
- Cosponsor: Darius K. Kila (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Matthias Kusch (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mike Lee (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: M.
- Cosponsor: Lisa Marten (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Lauren Matsumoto (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Tyson K. Miyake (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Dee Morikawa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: REYES ODA
- Cosponsor: Jackson D. Sayama (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Garner M. Shimizu (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Kanani Souza (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: David A. Tarnas (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Chris Todd (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-05-06 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 47 | 4 |   |
| 2026-05-01 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 24 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-27 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-27 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-14 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2026-04-09 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-18 | Senate | The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-18 | Senate | The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 50 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 8 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | House | The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on AGR... | pass | 50 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 9 | 0 |   |

## Actions (52)

- 2026-05-26: Act 034, 05/26/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1134). (Senate)
- 2026-05-26: Act 034, on 05/26/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1134). (House)
- 2026-05-08: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888). (Senate)
- 2026-05-07: Transmitted to Governor. (House)
- 2026-05-06: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Amato, Garcia voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Belatti, Marten, Perruso, Poepoe voting no (4) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-05-05: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 814). (House)
- 2026-05-01: Deferred one day 05-06-26. (House)
- 2026-05-01: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Fukunaga). (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 25-26) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2026-04-29: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Friday, 05-01-26. (House)
- 2026-04-29: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 25-26). (Senate)
- 2026-04-29: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-01-26 (Senate)
- 2026-04-27: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Hashem, Chun, Tarnas, Cochran; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-04-27: The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Chang, Rhoads, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-04-24: Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Monday, 04-27-26 10:20AM in conference room 224. (House)
- 2026-04-23: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 810). (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: House Conferees Appointed: Evslin, Hashem, Chun, Tarnas Co-Chairs; Cochran. (House)
- 2026-04-20: Senate Conferees Appointed: Gabbard Chair; Chang, Rhoads Co-Chairs; Awa. (Senate)
- 2026-04-20: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 713). (House)
- 2026-04-17: Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780). (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: House disagrees with Senate amendment (s). (House)
- 2026-04-14: Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2026-04-14: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 615) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2026-04-10: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3768) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: 48 Hrs. Notice 04-14-26. (Senate)
- 2026-04-09: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-09-26 10:01AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Reported from AEN/HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3219) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Rhoads, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Hashimoto, Elefante. (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Richards, DeCoite, Rhoads, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-03-13: The committee(s) on AEN/HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-18-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 276). (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to AEN/HOU, JDC. (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1195-26) as amended in HD 3, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-03-06: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-10-26. (House)
- 2026-03-04: 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. (House)
- 2026-02-27: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 03-04-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-02-20: Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 599-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to JHA. (House)
- 2026-02-20: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on JHA as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Perruso voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). (House)
- 2026-02-18: The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Chun, Kusch, Kahaloa, Lowen, Quinlan, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Perruso; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-02-13: Bill scheduled to be heard by AGR on Wednesday, 02-18-26 9:30AM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from HSG/WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 179-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to AGR. (House)
- 2026-02-11: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on AGR with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Holt excused (1). (House)
- 2026-02-06: The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Cochran, Grandinetti, Kila, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-02-06: The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Iwamoto, Poepoe, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Ichiyama, Woodson. (House)
- 2026-02-03: Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG/WAL on Friday, 02-06-26 8:45AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-01-26: Referred to HSG/WAL, AGR, JHA, referral sheet 1 (House)
- 2026-01-21: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House)
- 2026-01-20: Prefiled. (House)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_CD1_.pdf)
- HB1737_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_CD1_.HTM)
- HB1737_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_HD1_.HTM)
- HB1737_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_HD2_.HTM)
- HB1737_HD3: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_HD3_.HTM)
- HB1737_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_SD1_.HTM)
- HB1737_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_SD2_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1134_.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS. (became law)
- SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES. (signed)
- HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- SB 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_CD1_.pdf)
- [HB1737_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_CD1_.HTM)
- [HB1737_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB1737_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_HD2_.HTM)
- [HB1737_HD3 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_HD3_.HTM)
- [HB1737_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_SD1_.HTM)
- [HB1737_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_SD2_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1737_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/GM1134_.PDF)

## Related
- [SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB847-2026)
- [SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2338-2026)
- [HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2344-2026)
- [HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2023-2026)
- [HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2021-2026)
- [SB 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2964-2026)
- [Hawaii bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii/bills)
- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1737-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).