# Hawaii HB 1984: RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Hawaii HB 1984, RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) House bill sponsored by Nicole E. Lowen (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-03-24 (Reported from EIG/GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3162) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPN/WAM.) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1984-2026
- 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 1984
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-23
- Last action: 2026-03-24, Reported from EIG/GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3162) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPN/WAM.
- Sponsor: Nicole E. Lowen (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 11
- Subjects: Solar Distributed Energy Resource Systems, Building Permits, Self-Certification Process, No-Rise Certification, Regulatory Floodways, EIG/GVO, CPN/WAM
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (134 yes, 1 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

By 7/1/2027, requires government entities in the State that issue building permits to establish a self‑certification process for certain behind‑the‑meter, customer‑sited solar distributed energy resource systems that deems permit applications approved and allows applicants to proceed to build solar distributed energy resource systems immediately. Requires government entities in the State that issue building permits to develop guidance for determining specific conditions when a Federal Emergency Management Agency-mandated No-Rise Certification is not required for a solar distributed energy resource system located in a regulatory floodway. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Nicole E. Lowen (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Luke A. Evslin (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tina Nakada Grandinetti (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kirstin Kahaloa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jeanne Kapela (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Darius K. Kila (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Matthias Kusch (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Lisa Marten (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Lauren Matsumoto (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Ikaika Olds (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Amy A. Perruso (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-17 | Senate | The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-17 | Senate | The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 1 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 10 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 8 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on WAL... | pass | 51 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | House | The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 0 |   |

## Actions (23)

- 2026-03-24: Reported from EIG/GVO (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3162) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to CPN/WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-03-24: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to CPN/WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-03-17: The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in GVO were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) McKelvey, Gabbard, Hashimoto, Moriwaki, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2026-03-17: The committee(s) on EIG recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EIG were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Wakai, Chang, DeCoite, Richards; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 334). (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Referred to EIG/GVO, CPN/WAM. (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: The committee(s) on EIG/GVO has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Garcia, Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and none excused (0). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2026-03-06: Reported from CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1059-26), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2026-03-04: The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Grandinetti, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Kong, Lowen, Marten, Tam; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Pierick. (House)
- 2026-03-02: Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Wednesday, 03-04-26 2:00PM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-02-20: Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 713-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to CPC. (House)
- 2026-02-20: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on CPC as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Garcia, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). (House)
- 2026-02-17: The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Morikawa, Belatti, Ichiyama, Woodson, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Iwamoto, Shimizu; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Poepoe. (House)
- 2026-02-11: Bill scheduled to be heard by WAL on Tuesday, 02-17-26 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-02-10: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on WAL with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). (House)
- 2026-02-09: Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 81-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to WAL. (House)
- 2026-02-05: The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Chun, Kahaloa, Kusch, Quinlan, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2026-02-02: Bill scheduled to be heard by EEP on Thursday, 02-05-26 9:00AM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2026-01-28: Referred to EEP, WAL, CPC, referral sheet 3 (House)
- 2026-01-26: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House)
- 2026-01-23: Pending introduction. (House)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_SD1_.pdf)
- HB1984_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_HD1_.HTM)
- HB1984_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_HD2_.HTM)
- HB1984_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_SD1_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS. (became law)
- HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES. (signed)
- HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- HB 1973: RELATING TO HEALTH. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_SD1_.pdf)
- [HB1984_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB1984_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_HD2_.HTM)
- [HB1984_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_SD1_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB1984_.PDF)

## Related
- [SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB847-2026)
- [HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2021-2026)
- [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 1973: RELATING TO HEALTH.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1973-2026)
- [Hawaii bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii/bills)
- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1984-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).