The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii on Feb. 2, 2026, for consideration by the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Health and Human Services.
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Feb. 2, 2026, 3 p.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 224 and Videoconference
To: Committee on Agriculture and Environment
Sen. Mike Gabbard, Chair
Sen. Herbert M. “Tim” Richards, III, Vice Chair
Committee on Health and Human Services
Sen. Joy A. San Buenaventura, Chair
Sen. Angus L.K. McKelvey, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: COMMENTS ON SB2155 — RELATING TO WASTEWATER SYSTEMS
Aloha chairs, vice chairs and other members of the committees,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii offers comments on— and an amendment to — SB2155, which would require the Hawaii Department of Health to allow up to five dwelling units to connect to an individual wastewater system, provided that no more than six total bedrooms are connected to the system.
This bill could augment Act 224 (2025), which changed state law to allow up to five bedrooms to connect to an individual wastewater system regardless of the number of dwelling units. However, instead of limiting the number of dwelling units as this bill proposes, Grassroot recommends the bill simply be rewritten to update the text of Act 224 to allow six bedrooms instead of five.
Doing this would let Hawaii residents currently using septic or other approved wastewater systems have maximum flexibility in adding to their homes or building second, smaller homes on their land.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
