The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs on Feb. 10, 2025.
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Feb. 10, 2025, 3 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 225 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs
Sen. Brandon Elefante, Chair
Sen. Glenn Wakai, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: SB1540 — RELATING TO BUILDING CODES
Aloha Chair Elefante, Vice-Chair Wakai and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports SB1540, which would replace the current building code adoption process with a single state building code.
Grassroot believes this would help fix the state’s convoluted building code-adoption process, since it would balance the objectives of safety and cost.
Under the current code process, the state makes changes to and then adopts the latest version of the model building code proposed by the International Building Code. Then each of Hawaii’s four counties makes their own changes to the updated state code before adopting the building code as their own.
Under HB745, the State Building Code Council would make changes to and adopt model building codes, and the counties would have the option to remove requirements from the state building code or — after receiving approval from the State Building Code Council — add requirements to the state code.
State law currently requires the State Building Code Council to adopt every iteration of the International Building Code and related codes within two years of their release; the counties have an additional two years to adopt and make their amendments to the state code. HB745 would remove this two-step process.
That’s important, because the Council and counties often struggle to meet these deadlines. For example, it was only in April 2021 that the State Building Code Council adopted the 2018 Interim Building Code[1] and not until early 2023 that Honolulu fully adopted those amendments.[2]
Because of this staggered adoption process, county building officials, builders and architects must constantly re-learn the building code’s requirements. For builders, this means navigating as many as four different codes, which takes time and training, increasing administrative costs.
The almost-constant nature of the building code updates also stresses already understaffed county planning and permitting departments and can exacerbate permitting delays, which research shows can affect the price of housing.[3]
As measured by the state’s Honolulu Construction Cost Index, the cost for single-family homes in 2024 was 2.6 times higher than the cost in 2020. For highrises, the cost was 2.5 times higher.[4]
The state’s strict land-use, zoning and permitting rules are a key driver of these costs. The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i has estimated that regulations comprise 58% of the cost of new condominium construction.[5]
A unified state building code would maintain the health and safety standards while contributing to the repair of a broken process.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] “State Building Code Adoption,” State Building Code Council, April 20, 2021, p. 1.
[2] “Interim Building Code (2018 IBC) Takes Effect,” Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, April 20, 2023.
[3] Paul Emrath, “How Government Regulation Affects the Price of a New Home,” National Association of Homebuilders, Economics and Housing Policy Group, 2011, p. 5; and Adam Millsap, Samuel Staley and Vittorio Nastasi, “Assessing the Effects of Local Impact Fees and Land-use Regulations on Workforce Housing in Florida,” James Madison Institute, Dec. 11, 2018, p. 19.
[4] “Quarterly Statistical and Economic Report, 4th Quarter 2024,” Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, pp. 107-108.
[5] Justin Tyndall and Emi Kim, “Why are Condominiums so Expensive in Hawai‘i?”, The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, May 2024, p. 11.
