THE SENATE
S.R. NO.
172
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE RESOLUTION
Requesting the department of accounting and general services to convene a cooperative working group to address state projects that require county permitting.
WHEREAS, the State submits hundreds of building permit applications each year to county permitting departments; and
WHEREAS, the allocated costs for these state projects total hundreds of millions of dollars and support thousands of jobs, but the projects often face considerable delays in the permit approval process; and
WHEREAS, during 2022 and 2023, more than ninety percent of all state building permit applications submitted to the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu took longer than one hundred eighty days to obtain approval, with the average approval length being approximately six hundred days; and
WHEREAS, this processing time was reported to be approximately six times longer than the average private sector building permit application approval time, and the delays increased state costs by more than $30 million over a two-year period due to inflation; and
WHEREAS, the State requires further information to understand and resolve the county-level permitting inefficiencies and other obstacles faced by state projects; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the Department of Accounting and General Services is requested to convene a cooperative working group to address state projects that require county permitting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to explore, research, and issue recommendations on streamlining permitting processes exclusively for state projects with county permitting needs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of the following members:
(1) The Comptroller, or their designee, who shall serve as chair of the working group;
(2) The Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Government Operations;
(3) One member of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(4) The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, or their designee;
(5) The Director of Transportation, or their designee;
(6) The Superintendent of Education, or their designee;
(7) The President of the University of Hawaii System, or their designee;
(8) The Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, or their designee;
(9) The Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, or their designee;
(10) The Director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, or their designee;
(11) The Chief Energy Officer, or their designee;
(12) The Chief of the Wastewater Branch of the Department of Health, or their designee;
(13) The Chair of the State Building Code Council of the Department of Accounting and General Services, or their designee; and
(14) One representative from each county planning and permitting department, to be invited by the chair of the working group; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2028; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Comptroller, Superintendent of Education, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Director of Transportation, Director of Health, President of the University of Hawaii System, Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, Executive Director of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Chief Energy Officer, Chair of the State Building Code Council, and Mayor of each county.
OFFERED BY:
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Report Title:
DAGS; County Permitting Departments; State Projects; Working Group; Report