Historic Hawai‘i Foundation 2025 Mid-Session Legislative Update
3/11/25: As the Hawai‘i State Legislature reached the half-way point of the session, bills that were approved in their assigned committees and three votes by in their full chamber of origin “passed over” to the other chamber. Bills that met the mandatory deadlines are moving forward for additional public hearings and three floor votes. Any that make it through their second chamber will eventually be considered by both the House and the Senate to agree on final versions. The 2025 legislative session opened on January 15 and will run through May 2. At the beginning of the session, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation identified approximately 60 bills related to HHF’s mission. Some 16 bills relate to historic preservation or the State Historic Preservation Division; another seven bills address specific historic properties or sites; at least six aim to streamline development by avoiding historic preservation and/or environmental reviews or permitting; 18 address arts or culture topics; seven bills address native Hawaiian burials or the island burial councils; and at least four measures affect nonprofit organization management and governance. One of Historic Hawaii Foundation’s core initiatives is to monitor, research, evaluate and testify on legislative matters. Our policy goals include measures to support, create and defend a balance of preservation incentives, regulations and public-private partnerships to encourage the preservation and rehabilitation of historic properties. The recent survey of HHF members and supporters on historic preservation values and priorities found that more than 98% of respondents stated that “supporting public polices, legislative and regulatory frameworks for preservation outcomes” is extremely relevant and needs to be a high priority for HHF’s actions. PASSING HB 309 establishes a fishpond inventory working group within the University of Hawai‘i [...]