The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii on Jan. 30, 2025, for consideration by the Senate Committees on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Government Operations.
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Jan. 30, 2025, 3 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 415 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs
Sen. Glenn Wakai, Chair
Sen. Stanley Chang, Vice Chair
Senate Committee on Government Operations
Sen. Angus McKelvey, Chair
Sen. Mike Gabbard, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: SB161 — RELATING TO COUNTY PERMITTING AND INSPECTION
Aloha Chairs, Vice-Chairs and other members of the committees,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports SB161, which would exempt state projects from county building permits, inspections and certificate-of-occupancy requirements, and prohibit state agencies from applying for such permits.
By exempting state projects from these requirements, county building reviewers would have more time to focus on private construction, including much-needed housing, which would improve the building permit process for everyone.
For an idea of the impact this bill would have, consider that Hawai’i County issued 163 non-residential alteration permits in 2024. Of these, at least 29 were for work on state facilities, mostly those owned by the University of Hawai‘i and the state Department of Education. That’s about 18% of such permits.[1]
Time saved by moving those projects out of the permitting queue could help businesses and entrepreneurs upgrade their buildings, generating tax revenue for the county and job opportunities for residents.
The bill might also speed up the delivery of state projects, which could make capital improvement budgets go further. According to the Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance’s Variance Report, the School Facilities Authority aimed to complete 23 projects in fiscal year 2024 but completed only 11.[2]
Cutting down permitting timelines for such projects would help not only the state, but all permitting applicants.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] County of Hawaii Electronic Processing and Information Center, accessed Jan. 28, 2025. To access the data, see Permit Type: Non-Residential Alteration, Status: Issued, Issued data 1/1/2024 to 12/31/2024, then download the results.
[2] “Variance Report: Formal Education, Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025,” Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance, Dec. 3, 2024, Program title: School Facilities Authority, p. 494.
