March 18, 2026, 3 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 415 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment
Sen. Mike Gabbard, Chair
Sen. Herbert M. “Tim” Richards, III, Vice Chair
Senate Committee on Housing
Sen. Stanley Chang, Chair
Sen. Troy N. Hashimoto, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HB1737 HD3 — RELATING TO FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING
Aloha Chairs, Vice Chairs and other Committee Members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports — and offers amendments to — HB1737 HD2, which would add a definition of the term “farm employee housing” to state law.
Under the bill, farm employee housing would be defined as “one or more residential dwelling units accessory to the farm operation that may be attached or detached from the primary farm dwelling; provided that the farm employee housing shall be no larger than eight hundred habitable square feet under roof per residential dwelling unit.”
Grassroot pointed out in its January 2026 policy brief “How to facilitate more housing for Hawaii farm and ranch workers” that a lack of affordable housing has consistently been cited as a barrier to expanding agricultural production in Hawaii. The report also made clear that there is no statewide standard for how and where farm employee housing can be built.
Regarding the proposed amendment, Grassroot believes that farmers and ranchers in counties without an 800 square foot cap on the size of farm employee homes should not have to redesign existing farm employee and farm labor dwellings to comply with this bill. In other words, while statewide clarity regarding farm employee housing is much needed, any new state law governing farmworker housing should not be more strict than regulations that are currently in place at the county level.
Thus, Grassroot believes this bill should include the following underlined language:
“Farm employee housing” means one or more residential dwelling units accessory to the farm operation that may be attached or detached from the primary farm dwelling; provided that the farm employee housing shall be no larger than eight hundred habitable square feet under roof per residential dwelling unit; provided further that farm employee housing for which a building permit or a certificate of occupancy has been approved under a county ordinance prior to the effective date of this act shall be considered nonconforming;
Grassroot also believes that this measure should give farmers, ranchers and the counties greater clarity as to how permits for farm employee housing should be processed. Research indicates that public hearing processes can complicate approvals and slow down the review process for applicants.[1] Adding the following underlined language to the bill would simplify the permitting process:
provided that the total land area upon which the farm dwelling, farm employee housing, and all appurtenances are situated shall be no larger than a ratio of square feet per acre of agricultural land leased to the fee owner of the farm dwelling; provided further that no fee owner of the farm dwelling shall submit any portion thereof to a condominium property regime to separate the ownership of the farm employee housing units from the farm dwelling pursuant to chapter 514B; provided further that no portion of the farm dwelling shall be used for agricultural tourism or related accommodations under paragraph (14); provided further that the county planning director shall have the authority to approve plans for farm employee housing without a public hearing;
Approving this bill with these amendments would give farmers and ranchers an extra tool to help attract and retain workers, because living on the land could minimize commute times and transportation expenses.
Consider the following information:
>> Hawaii imports 85-90% of its food supply.[2]
>> A 2020 U.S. Department of Agriculture survey found that 41% of the state’s farmers and ranchers cited a lack of labor as a barrier to expanding their operations.[3]
>> More than 9,500 people in Hawaii were employed as “hired farm labor” in 2023.[4]
>> More than half of those people worked on farms and ranches on Hawaii Island alone,[5] but only one-quarter of Hawaii Island farmers reported hiring labor.
Allowing more housing on farms and ranches, especially for temporary and seasonal workers, would be a win for farm and ranch owners, a win for their employees and a win for everyone who enjoys local food.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Footnotes
- Michael Manville, Paavo Monkkonen and Nolan Gray et al., “Does Discretion Delay Development?” Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 89, Issue 23, 2023.
- Hannah Leto, Jordan Mitkowski and Katie Hogan et al., “Agricultural Labor on Hawaiʻi Island,” Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University, May 2025, p. 1.
- “Labor Shortage as a Barrier to Agricultural Expansion 2020,” Hawaii Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, April 2022.
- “Hawaii PYs 2024-2027,” Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, p. 70.
- Hannah Leto, Jordan Mitkowski and Katie Hogan et al., “Agricultural Labor on Hawaiʻi Island,” Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University, May 2025, pp. 4-5.
