2026-09-10 · Hawaii · Legislation · Did not pass

Hawaii associations spend real effort tracking down owners who live somewhere else. A bill requiring those owners to name an on-island agent passed the Senate unanimously and died in a conference committee that met three times.¹

SB 2396 (2026) amended HRS § 514B-153 — the association address list — and would have created a DCCA registry.

What it required

• DCCA to establish and maintain a Registry of Agents, publicly accessible on the Office of Consumer Protection’s website.
• Absentee owners and landlords to register any agent managing property on their behalf.
• A prohibition on designating a tenant as the agent.
• Condominium association members living outside the State or on another island from their unit to give the board the contact information of a designated on-island agent, to be included on the § 514B-153 address list.

The version as introduced carried penalties for failing to register or designate. The House draft dropped the penalty structure.

How it died

Senate third reading 25–0 on March 10, 2026. House third reading April 9. Senate disagreed April 10. Conferees appointed on both sides. Last action: “4/28/26: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Wednesday 04-29-26 2:30PM in conference room 224.” No report; dead at the April 29 deadline.

1. SB 2396 (2026), Hawaii State Legislature status feed ↩
2. SB 2396, H.D. 1 — bill text ↩
3. HRS § 514B-153, Association records (membership list and affidavit requirement) ↩