The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Water and Land on Feb. 5, 2026.
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Feb. 5, 2026, 9 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 411 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Water and Land
Rep. Mark J. Hashem, Chair
Rep. Dee Morikawa, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HB1823 — RELATING TO THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and other Committee members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports HB1823, which would exempt certain state and county infrastructure improvements from the state’s Special Management Area rules and clarify the definition of the term “development” as it applies to the SMA.
This legislation could speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure projects and lower taxpayer costs associated with those projects.
Specifically, the bill would exempt road, bridge, wastewater, drainage and other publicly funded projects that comply with the applicable county’s community plan from the requirement to obtain an SMA use permit.
These use permits often take six months to a year to process,[1] and each county requires a public hearing and vote by either a planning commission or a county council, which introduces uncertainty to every project.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] “Shoreline SMA,” Shoreline Consulting, accessed Jan. 23, 2026.
