Hawai‘i State Senate to hold public hearing on vacation rental bill

On Friday, three Senate Committees will hold a joint public hearing on Senate Bill 2919, which establishes certain State Regulations for short-term vacation rentals, allows the counties to adopt zoning ordinances and regulations for the amortization or phasing out of certain lands or structures, and applies the TAT to shelters and vehicles with, or advertised as including, sleeping accommodations.

This will be the first hearing on a Senate Bill about short-term vacation rentals following the Governor’s State of the State Address and the December 2023 federal court ruling in Hawaiʻi Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance v. City and County of Honolulu.

For the 2024 legislative session, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection is piloting a new set of hearing procedures to enhance operational standards and facilitate more transparency and robust discussion on matters addressed by the Committee.

The public hearing for Senate Bill 2919 was publicly posted four days before the hearing, written testimony received up to forty-eight hours before the hearing will be considered timely, and timely testimony will be posted on the Legislature’s website twenty-four hours prior to the start of the hearing. 

A livestream of the Informational Briefing can be viewed on the Senate YouTube channel here.