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GM 1398

Informing the Legislature that on July 3, 2025, the Governor signed the following bill into law: SB66 SD2 HD3 CD1 (ACT 295).

2025 Regular Session

Creates a time-limited expedited permit pathway for Hawaii housing projects (single- and multi-family) through June 30, 2031, with required safeguards and infrastructure checks.

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Bill Summary · GM 1398

Summary of GM 1398 — Act 295 (SB66, CD1)

GM 1398 serves to inform the Legislature that SB66, CD1, was signed into law by the Governor as Act 295 on July 3, 2025. The act relates to housing and establishes an expedited permit process for certain housing projects, with a targeted duration through June 30, 2031.

Purpose and intent

  • Address Hawai‘i’s housing shortage by accelerating the permitting process for single-family and multi-family housing projects.
  • Respond to historically long building-permit processing times that deter housing development and raise project costs.
  • Create a clear, time-bound pathway for expedited review while maintaining essential review safeguards, including infrastructure availability, historic and environmental considerations, and code compliance.

Key provisions and changes

1) Establishment of Expedited Permits (new §46-)
- The act adds a new statutory mechanism to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Chapter 46 to provide expedited permit approvals for housing projects in each county.
- Eligible projects: single-family and multi-family housing projects.

2) Eligibility and Request Process (subsection (b))
- An applicant or its agent may request an expedited permit if 60 business days have elapsed after the application was deemed complete by the relevant county agency and full approval has not been issued.
- Required components of the expedited-permit request:
- A full and complete set of project plans.
- Statements or evidence from relevant permitting agencies that adequate infrastructure capacity is available to service the project site and specified improvements.
- Insurance and indemnity documents from all licensed professionals on record, including:
- Policies naming the State and county as additional insureds.
- Coverage amounts of at least $2,000,000.
- Indemnification and hold-harmless language protecting the State, county, and their personnel.
- A statement that sixty business days have elapsed without county approval.
- The required county contractor’s statement.

3) Completeness Criteria (subsection (c))
- For an expedited-permit request to be considered complete, the county may rely on:
- A reasonable, good-faith determination by qualified professionals (architecture, archaeology, architectural history, physical anthropology) that the project is not likely to affect historic properties, archaeological resources, or burial sites; or that the project has been submitted to the State Historic Preservation Division and the 6E process has been completed.
- Documentation that the project does not encroach on FEMA flood hazard areas (A or V zones) or has county review/permits for floodplain management.
- The project height not exceeding thirty feet.
- The project not located on a shoreline parcel or on a parcel impacted by waves, storm waves, high tide, or shoreline erosion, and compliance with applicable laws and procedures.

4) Timeframe and Sunset
- The expedited-permit process is designed to expedite review time for qualifying housing projects.
- The expedited review provisions are set to be in effect until June 30, 2031.

Who is affected

  • Local counties (including the City and County of Honolulu and other counties) that administer building permits.
  • Housing developers and their agents/applicants seeking expedited permits.
  • Licensed professionals (architects, engineers, archaeologists, etc.) who prepare plans and provide required documentation.
  • Insurers and risk managers due to the mandatory hold-harmless and insurance provisions.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Trigger: 60-business-day lapse after a complete application without full county approval allows an expedited-permit request.
  • Requirements must accompany the expedited request to be deemed complete.
  • The act adds a defined, expedited pathway within the existing permitting framework (Chapter 46), with a sunset in mid-2031.

Note: The bill text included in GM 1398 contains sections that are partially truncated. The above reflects the core provisions clearly stated in the available text.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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