Why those last two bills existed

Because the Hawaii Supreme Court had just decided the question against the industry.

In Caven v. Certified Management (September 5, 2025), the court held that HRS §§ 514B-152 and 514B-154.5 reach documents a managing agent creates on request — “these statutorily mandated disclosures are not limited to pre-existing documents” — and that where such documents are made available for download through an internet site, they must be provided at no cost, whether the site belongs to the association or the managing agent.

SB 2035 was an attempt to reverse that legislatively. SB 2301 was a broader attempt to remove the duty altogether. Both died, so Caven stands.

What the law requires right now

• § 514B-154.5(c) — the enumerated documents “shall be provided no later than thirty days after receipt of a unit owner’s or owner’s authorized agent’s written request, unless a lesser time is provided.”
• § 514B-154(a) — approved board minutes for the current and prior year either at no cost or on 24-hour loan, or transmitted within fifteen days of a request.
• § 514B-154(f) — for other documents, the board must give written authorisation or a written refusal with an explanation within thirty calendar days.
• § 514B-154(j) and § 514B-154.5(f) — a fee for copies must be reasonable and shall not exceed $1 per page.
• § 514B-154(b) — “Owners shall pay for administrative costs in excess of eight hours per year.”
• § 514B-154.2, added by Act 161 (2025) — an association must provide an electronic copy of its governing documents, as amended or restated, to an owner or authorised agent on request at no cost, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the declaration, bylaws or house rules.
• § 514B-105(d) — an owner requesting legal or other information cannot be charged unless the association gives written notice of intent to charge at least ten days before incurring the cost, and the owner may then withdraw the request in writing and not be charged.

Act 161 (2025) also struck the phrase “and other administrative costs associated with handling the request” from § 514B-154.5(b), leaving an owner liable only for “a reasonable fee for duplication, postage, and stationery.”

So what is actually missing

Enforcement, and a register. The deadlines exist. The fee caps exist. What does not exist is any consequence short of an owner going to mediation, arbitration or court — which is why SB 2838’s attorneys’-fee provision was the meaningful part and the first thing cut.

And there is still no public repository of the documents that govern Hawaii condominiums. Owner advocates have contrasted this with Miami-Dade County’s post-Champlain Towers South registry, and have charged that DCCA’s existing registry holds “only obsolete developer’s public reports” and biennial registrations with incorrect or missing data.² The Commission’s 2026–2027 Program of Work commits only to “study the feasibility” of a central depository “via voluntary participation.”

What the task force recommended instead

On June 5 and June 19, 2026 the Act 189 task force adopted two related recommendations: amend chapter 514B to improve access by strengthening enforcement for timely production, ensuring charges are reasonable, removing technological and procedural barriers, reviewing affidavit requirements, assessing whether eight free hours is adequate, and evaluating a secure online platform — and separately, require associations to file their current governing documents with the biennial registration.

That second one is the portal by another route: if every association files its documents at registration, the register exists whether or not anyone builds a website.

What a board can do now

• Audit your document fee schedule against Caven. A download with a processing, expedite or transfer fee attached is not defensible.
• Diary the thirty-day clock on every written request, and the fifteen-day one for board minutes.
• Give the § 514B-105(d) ten-day notice before incurring a cost you intend to charge back.
• Have your governing documents ready as a single electronic file. Section 514B-154.2 requires it free on request, and it is also what the task force would have you file at registration.

What to watch

The 2027 introduction of the task force package, and whether the fee-shifting provision that was cut from SB 2838 comes back with it. Enforcement is the whole question, and it is the part that keeps being removed.