The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs on April 3, 2025.
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April 3, 2025, 3 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 016 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs
Rep. Glenn Wakai, Chair
Rep. Stanley Chang, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: HCR157 — ESTABLISHING THE TASK FORCE FOR SPEED (SIMPLIFYING PERMITTING FOR ENHANCED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT) TO IDENTIFY ACTIONS NEEDED TO EXPEDITE, FACILITATE, AND COORDINATE STATE AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL PERMIT PROCESSES
Aloha Chair Wakai, Vice Chair Chang and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute supports HCR157, which would establish the Task Force for SPEED (Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development) with the goal of identifying and analyzing ways to streamline and coordinate state and intergovernmental permit processes.
Approving this resolution would be an important step toward helping resolve Hawaii’s housing crisis because permitting delays slow housing growth and add significantly to the price of housing.
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]
A recent report from the Grassroot Institute, “Seven low cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii,” provides a potential road map for commonsense permit reform.[2] Its suggestions include increasing permit exemptions, utilizing third-party approvals, adopting meaningful “shot clocks” and implementing a program that would grandfather existing dwellings that were built without permits.
It might be possible to reduce permitting delays with more staff or better software, but ultimately, only reform of Hawaii’s permitting regulations themselves will make lasting inroads into resolving Hawaii’s housing crisis.
That said, we heartily welcome and support this proposal to establish a task force that would explore these and other ways to speed up and “simplify permitting for enhanced economic development.”
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] Jonathan Helton, “Seven low cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii,” Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, October 2024, p. 14.
