The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs on March 27, 2025.
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March 27, 2025, 2 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 325 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs
Rep. David A. Tarnas, Chair
Rep. Mahina Poepoe, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: SB66 SD2 HD2 — RELATING TO HOUSING
Aloha Chair Tarnas, Vice-Chair Poepoe and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute supports SB66 SD2 HD2, which would require county permitting agencies to grant a permit within 60 days to certain single-family or multifamily housing projects once the application is deemed complete. This includes certification that the project has access to adequate infrastructure and meets historic preservation rules.
If the agency failed to approve the permit in 60 days, the permit would be automatically approved.
Further, the automatic approval could be delayed if the permit did not comply with applicable federal, state or county regulations.
The 60-day “shot clock” suggested by this bill would help provide certainty to building permit applicants, who currently often must wait months for permits, even for simple home-repair projects.
According to “The Hawai’i Housing Factbook,” produced by The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, the median permit processing time between mid-2018 and mid-2023 across the state was 161 days.[1]
Reducing delays for permit approval could also reduce the possibility of corruption. The long wait time to obtain a permit creates situations in which applicants are tempted to offer bribes to get priority processing.[2]
Shot clocks such as those envisioned by this bill are already in use in other states.
For example, Florida mandated in 2021 that counties either issue single-family home permits within 30 days or incrementally refund the permit fees to the applicants. According to various Florida permitting departments, this law has helped speed up permit approvals and meet the state’s demand for housing.[3]
However, in order to be effective, a shot clock must have consequences. Thus, it is important that the bill retain its current language allowing for the automatic approval of complete applications after the 60-day period, so long as approval has not been delayed due to noncompliance with state and county law.
For that reason, we are concerned that amendments that increase the potential for “pauses” in the 60-day period would undermine the bill’s intent. Many of the approval delays that SB66 SD2 HD2 seeks to end are exacerbated by communications issues between the applicant and the planning agency. Adding procedural requirements and broadly applicable pause mechanisms could make the shot clock effectively meaningless.
In addition, as Grassroot suggested in its report “Seven low cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii,” lawmakers might want to consider allowing for third-party approval or self-certification of permits to help make the shot clock more feasible for county planning departments.[4]
Regardless, SB66 SD2 HD2 would forward the goal of increasing Hawaii’s housing supply and we urge you to pass this bill.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of strategic campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Justin Tyndall, Daniela Bond-Smith and Rachel Inafuku, “The Hawai’i Housing Factbook,” The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, June 28, 2023, p. 19.
[2] Christina Jedra, “Some Honolulu Building Permit Applicants Sailed Through Despite Long Waits For Most,” Honolulu Civil Beat, Oct. 18, 2023.
[3] Hayden Dublois, “Fast Track to Success: How Florida Has Streamlined Its Permitting Processes To Cut Red Tape and Expand Housing,” Foundation for Government Accountability, June 15, 2022.
[4] Jonathan Helton, “Seven low cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii,” Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, October 2024, p. 14.
