HawaiiHawaiian home leases may pass to eligible relatives
Hawaiian home leaseholders may transfer or leave leases to eligible relatives, including qualifying sibling’s children, under department approval and federal effective-date rules.
What it does
A leaseholder may transfer a lease to a sibling’s child who is at least one-quarter Hawaiian, if the department approves.
A leaseholder may name an eligible relative to receive the lease at death. If no successor is approved, the department may choose from listed relatives, including a qualifying sibling’s child.
A separate succession provision lists relatives with at least one-thirty-second Hawaiian ancestry. It applies only if congressional approval becomes law.
Argument forAllowing a qualifying sibling’s child to receive or inherit a lease could give some families another way to keep a homestead in the family.
Argument againstFamilies could lose a lease if no successor is approved and no relative meets the law’s limited eligibility rules.
More detail
A leaseholder may transfer a leasehold interest to a sibling’s child with department approval. This applies to Hawaiian home leases under the Act. The sibling’s child must be at least one-quarter Hawaiian, and the department must approve the transfer. This provision takes effect when either the Interior Secretary gives the specified notice to Congress or congressional approval becomes law.
A leaseholder may name a qualified relative to receive the lease at death; if no successor is approved, the department may select from listed relatives in order. This applies when a Hawaiian home leaseholder dies. Under section 2, listed relatives include a spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, and sibling’s children who are at least one-quarter Hawaiian, along with specified native Hawaiian relatives. A written designation must be filed with and approved by the department. Without an approved designation, the department may select only from listed relatives in the stated order. The successor’s use and occupancy rights may begin on the leaseholder’s date of death.
Section 3 provides a separate succession rule listing relatives with at least one-thirty-second Hawaiian ancestry. This concerns relatives who may receive a Hawaiian home lease through a leaseholder’s designation or succession. This provision applies to relatives named by the leaseholder or selected under the succession rules, with the other listed eligibility requirements still applying. Section 3 takes effect on the date congressional approval becomes law.
Where do you stand?
Choose your position
Tell your reps
Take a position to see your representatives and ways to contact them.
Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jun 26Act 164, 06/26/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1266).Latest
- Jun 26Act 164, on 06/26/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1266).Became Law
- May 8Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888).Minor
- May 7Transmitted to Governor.
- May 6Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.Major
- Vote recorded Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1. Result: pass.Lower
- May 6Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).Major
- May 6Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816).Minor
- Apr 29Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 68-26) as amended in (CD 1).
- Apr 29Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26.
- Apr 29Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 68-26).
- Apr 2948 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26
- Apr 28The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Kusch, Kahaloa, Poepoe, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.Minor
- Vote recorded The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. Result: pass.Lower
- Vote recorded The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 28The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Richards, Gabbard, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.Minor
- Apr 27Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-28-26 3:00PM; Conference Room 325.
- Apr 24Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-27-26 3:15PM; Conference Room 325.
- Apr 20House Conferees Appointed: Tarnas, Kusch Co-Chairs; Kahaloa, Poepoe, Garcia.
- Apr 20Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 786).Minor
- Apr 20Senate Conferees Appointed: Richards Chair; Gabbard Co-Chair; DeCorte.
- Apr 20Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 713).Minor
- Apr 17Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780).Minor
- Apr 16House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).Minor
- Apr 14Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.Passed Senate
- Vote recorded Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 14Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 678) in amended form (SD 1).
- Apr 10Reported from JDC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3771) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 1).
- Apr 1048 Hrs. Notice 04-14-26.
- Apr 7The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in JDC were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Rhoads, Gabbard, Chang, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Awa.Minor
- Vote recorded The committee(s) on JDC recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 1The committee(s) on JDC will hold a public decision making on 04-07-26 10:15AM; Conference Room 016 & Videoconference.
- Mar 30Reported from HWN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3377) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading and referral to JDC.
- Mar 30Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to JDC.Minor
- Mar 24The committee(s) on HWN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in HWN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Richards, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara, Keohokalole.Minor
- Vote recorded The committee(s) on HWN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 19The committee(s) on HWN has scheduled a public hearing on 03-24-26 1:00PM; CR 224 & Videoconference.
- Mar 10Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 203).Minor
- Mar 10Passed First Reading.Minor
- Mar 10Referred to HWN, JDC.Minor
- Mar 6Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1010-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
- Vote recorded Passed Third Reading. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 6Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso, Quinlan, Sayama excused (3). Transmitted to Senate.Passed House
- Feb 26The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.Minor
- Vote recorded The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 24Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 02-26-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
- Feb 18Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 465-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
- Vote recorded Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 18Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).Minor
- Feb 12The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Cochran, Hashem, Kahaloa, Sayama, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Belatti.Minor
- Vote recorded The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 10Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Thursday, 02-12-26 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
- Jan 30Referred to JHA, FIN, referral sheet 5Minor
- Jan 28Introduced and Pass First Reading.Minor
- Jan 26Pending introduction.Introduced
Housing