RELATING TO THE COUNTIES.
SB2673 requires each Hawaii county to create and maintain a publicly accessible, machine-readable dataset of building and civil engineering permit applications and related permit activity. The bill sets a statewide permitting data standard, developed by the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development in collaboration with the chief data officer and county permitting agencies, so that permit information is reported using common field names, definitions, and standardized values. The required data includes core permit details such as application, issuance, completion, status, location, project value, housing units, contractor information, and permit type, with additional fields where available to help measure processing timelines and identify delays.
The bill also requires counties to update the dataset at least monthly, publish a data dictionary, and provide a crosswalk from county-specific codes to statewide standardized values. It directs the state to define how missing or inapplicable values should be handled and to include status categories that distinguish delays caused by applicants from delays caused by agencies. The statewide standard must be published by January 1, 2027, and counties must comply by that date. The Office of Planning and Sustainable Development must also report to the Legislature before the 2027 session on the standard, the consultation process, implementation barriers, and any further legislative or administrative recommendations.
The bill amends Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by adding a new section requiring county-level publication of permit data and establishing a statewide permitting data standard. It imposes new ongoing data publication and coordination duties on counties, while assigning the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and the chief data officer responsibility for creating and maintaining the standard. The measure is aimed at improving transparency, comparability, and analysis of permitting performance across counties, with implications for housing development, renewable energy projects, and other construction-related activity.
The bill appears to have broad support and moved through the legislative process without recorded opposition in the provided votes. It passed Senate committees, Ways and Means, and conference committees unanimously or near-unanimously, suggesting general agreement that standardized permitting data would improve government accountability and help address permitting delays. The legislative findings frame the measure as a practical administrative reform tied to housing and economic development priorities.
The main issues reflected in the bill text are implementation-related rather than ideological. The Legislature acknowledges that counties currently use incompatible data standards and that some counties may face technology, staffing, or legal barriers to compliance. The bill therefore emphasizes collaboration, implementation guidance, and minimizing administrative burden. Any contention is likely to center on the cost and difficulty of standardizing county systems, the scope of required data fields, and how to distinguish applicant-caused delays from agency-caused delays, but no specific opposition is shown in the available discussion or voting record.