# Hawaii SB 38: RELATING TO HOUSING.

Hawaii SB 38, RELATING TO HOUSING., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1) Senate bill sponsored by Stanley Chang (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-07-03 (Act 294, 07/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1397).); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-27).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB38-2025
- As of: 2026-10-27
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii SB 38
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 1)
- Title: RELATING TO HOUSING.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-01-08
- Last action: 2025-07-03, Act 294, 07/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1397).
- Sponsor: Stanley Chang (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Subjects: HHFDC, Housing Development, Counties, Stricter Conditions, Fee Waivers, HSG, JHA
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 12 (209 yes, 25 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to provide counties with an opportunity to comment on certain housing development projects. Prohibits the legislative body of a county from imposing stricter conditions than the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, stricter area median income requirements, or a reduction in fee waivers to housing development proposals that would increase the cost of the project. (CD1)

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Faster housing approvals, occupancy limits: mixed, low. The law lets the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation build or support housing projects exempt from government rules on planning, zoning, subdivisions, land development, and home construction. The corporation must find each project fits the housing law, meets minimum health and safety…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Stanley Chang (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Kurt Fevella (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Troy N. Hashimoto (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: SAN BUENAVENTURA

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-30 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 23 | 2 |   |
| 2025-04-30 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 43 | 7 |   |
| 2025-04-24 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-24 | Senate | The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.... | pass | 3 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-24 | House | The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-08 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 40 | 10 |   |
| 2025-04-02 | House | The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 3 |   |
| 2025-03-18 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA... | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-14 | House | The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 23 | 2 |   |
| 2025-02-20 | Senate | The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 3 | 1 |   |
| 2025-01-28 | Senate | The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 4 | 0 |   |

## Actions (50)

- 2025-07-03: Act 294, 07/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1397). (Senate)
- 2025-07-03: Act 294, on 07/03/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1397). (House)
- 2025-06-06: Notice of Intent to veto dated 06/06/2025 (Gov. Msg. No. 1301) (Senate)
- 2025-06-06: Notice of intent to veto (Gov. Msg. No. 1301) (House)
- 2025-05-02: Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 821). (Senate)
- 2025-05-02: Enrolled to Governor. (Senate)
- 2025-05-01: Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 888). (House)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 23; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante, Fevella, Kim, McKelvey, Moriwaki. Noes, 2 (Senator(s) Awa, Ihara). Excused, 0 (none). (Senate)
- 2025-04-30: Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Perruso, Souza voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Amato, Belatti, Grandinetti, Hussey, Iwamoto, Olds, Poepoe voting no (7) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). (House)
- 2025-04-24: The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Rhoads, Kanuha; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Tarnas, La Chica, Miyake; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Muraoka. (House)
- 2025-04-24: The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Rhoads, Kanuha; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 77). (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: 48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 04-30-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-24: Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 77) as amended in (CD 1). (House)
- 2025-04-24: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 04-30-25. (House)
- 2025-04-23: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-24-25 10:30AM; Conference Room 224. (Senate)
- 2025-04-22: Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-23-25 10:31AM; Conference Room 224. (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Senate Conferees Appointed: Chang Chair; Rhoads Co-Chair; Kanuha, Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 848). (House)
- 2025-04-15: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 731). (Senate)
- 2025-04-14: House Conferees Appointed: Evslin, Tarnas Co-Chairs; La Chica, Miyake, Muraoka. (House)
- 2025-04-10: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 626). (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: Senate disagrees with House amendments. (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 779). (House)
- 2025-04-08: Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Belatti, Grandinetti voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Amato, Garcia, Iwamoto, Kong, Marten, Muraoka, Olds, Perruso, Poepoe voting no (10) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-04-04: Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2040) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-04-04: Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 04-08-25. (House)
- 2025-04-02: The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Hashem, Kahaloa, Takayama, Todd, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Belatti; 3 Noes: Representative(s) Poepoe, Perruso, Garcia; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran. (House)
- 2025-03-28: Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Wednesday, 04-02-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-18: Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1361) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA. (House)
- 2025-03-18: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2). (House)
- 2025-03-14: The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Kila, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Grandinetti; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick. (House)
- 2025-03-11: Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG on Friday, 03-14-25 9:00AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-03-06: Pass First Reading (House)
- 2025-03-06: Referred to HSG, JHA, referral sheet 19 (House)
- 2025-03-04: Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 23; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Elefante, Fevella, McKelvey, Moriwaki, Richards. Noes, 2 (Senator(s) Awa, DeCorte). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 70) in amended form (SD 2). (House)
- 2025-02-27: Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 737) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). (Senate)
- 2025-02-27: 48 Hrs. Notice 03-04-25. (Senate)
- 2025-02-20: The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard. (Senate)
- 2025-02-18: The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 02-20-25 10:01AM; CR 016 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-02-03: Reported from HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 6) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-02-03: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-01-28: The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Aquino, Kanuha; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella. (Senate)
- 2025-01-23: Re-Referred to HOU, JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-01-22: The committee(s) on HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 01-28-25 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-01-16: Referred to HOU/EIG, JDC. (Senate)
- 2025-01-15: Introduced and passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-01-08: Pending Introduction. (Senate)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_CD1_.pdf)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1397_.PDF)
- SB38_CD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_CD1_.HTM)
- SB38_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_HD1_.HTM)
- SB38_HD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_HD2_.HTM)
- SB38_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_SD1_.HTM)
- SB38_SD2: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_SD2_.HTM)

## Related bills

- SB 572: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 420: RELATING TO REMEDIES. (signed)
- SB 1296: RELATING TO DISASTER RECOVERY. (signed)
- HB 830: RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEWS. (signed)
- HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_CD1_.pdf)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/GM1397_.PDF)
- [SB38_CD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_CD1_.HTM)
- [SB38_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_HD1_.HTM)
- [SB38_HD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_HD2_.HTM)
- [SB38_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_SD1_.HTM)
- [SB38_SD2 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/bills/SB38_SD2_.HTM)

## Related
- [SB 572: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB572-2025)
- [HB 431: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB431-2025)
- [HB 420: RELATING TO REMEDIES.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB420-2025)
- [SB 1296: RELATING TO DISASTER RECOVERY.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB1296-2025)
- [HB 830: RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEWS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB830-2025)
- [HB 1064: RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB1064-2025)
- [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-SB38-2025 (as of 2026-10-27).