April 9, 2026, 10:01 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 016 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Judiciary
Sen. Karl Rhoads, Chair
Sen. Mike Gabbard, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HB1823 HD2 SD1 — RELATING TO THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and other Committee Members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports HB1823 HD2 SD1, which would exempt certain state and Maui County infrastructure improvements in Lahaina from the state’s Special Management Area rules.
Specifically, the bill would exempt road, wastewater, drainage and any other publicly funded infrastructure project in Lahaina from SMA rules as long as the project has been determined to have a “finding of no significant impact” under the state’s environmental notice law and complies with the area’s community plan.
An SMA use permits can take six months to a year to process,[1] and Maui County requires a public hearing and vote by one of its planning commissions, which introduces uncertainty to every project. As such, this legislation could speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure projects and reduce taxpayer costs associated with those projects.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
1050 Bishop St. #508 | Honolulu, HI 96813 | 808-864-1776 | info@grassrootinstitute.org
[1] “Shoreline SMA,” Shoreline Consulting, accessed Jan. 23, 2026.
