RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.
HB2171 authorizes the University of Hawaii to conduct “enterprise-related activities” on lands it owns, leases, or otherwise controls when those activities are directly tied to academic, career and technical education, workforce development, or research programs. The bill is aimed at hands-on learning settings such as teaching hotels, culinary centers, clinics, production environments, incubators, and similar applied training facilities that operate like real businesses but serve an instructional purpose. It allows the university to retain revenue from these activities to cover costs, maintain facilities, or fund student scholarships.
The bill also declares these activities to be a permitted use on university-designated lands and exempts them from county zoning ordinances and county land use approvals, including special use permits and conditional use permits. At the same time, it preserves compliance with state and county building codes, fire code, health and sanitation rules, accessibility requirements, and applicable taxes such as the general excise tax and transient accommodations tax. The measure was enacted as Act 138 on June 24, 2026.
HB2171 amends Chapter 304A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by creating a new statutory exemption for University of Hawaii enterprise-related activities from county zoning and discretionary land use regulation when those activities have an educational nexus. This shifts authority away from county zoning processes for qualifying university programs and treats those uses as permitted on university lands, while leaving technical, safety, health, accessibility, and tax requirements intact. The practical effect is to reduce local regulatory barriers for university-operated training businesses and to support statewide workforce and applied-learning programs.
The bill appears to have been broadly favorable and noncontroversial in the legislative process. Committee and conference votes were unanimous or near-unanimous, with no recorded opposition in the available vote history. The framing of the measure emphasizes workforce development, student training, and the statewide educational mission of the University of Hawaii, suggesting strong support for the policy goal of expanding hands-on learning opportunities.
The main point of contention addressed by the bill is the tension between university educational programs and county zoning authority. The legislation specifically responds to situations where county ordinances, special use permits, or conditional use permits could impede university teaching enterprises such as hospitality training facilities that charge fees or operate in a commercial-like manner. Counties may be concerned about losing land-use oversight, while the university and supporters argue that these programs are educational in nature and should not be subject to varying local approval processes. The bill resolves that conflict by exempting qualifying activities from county regulation but preserving health, safety, and tax compliance.