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Senate approves working group on landlord-tenant code after Attorney General raises scope concerns
Summary
The Senate passed SCR 123 on April 1 to convene a working group to study landlord-tenant code changes to boost housing supply, adopting realtor-proposed amendments and adding the Office of Consumer Protection to the group.
The Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection on April 1 passed SCR 123 (and SR 103) to convene a working group charged with proposing landlord-tenant code improvements intended to increase the supply of housing in Hawaii, adopting amendments proposed by the Hawaii Association of Realtors and adding the Office of Consumer Protection to the membership.
Attorney General's office comments: Deputy Attorney General Jordan Ching testified for the Attorney General's office and said the department may not be the best entity to lead a working group on landlord-tenant issues because the department does not generally handle landlord-tenant matters. Ching suggested that the legislature might better appoint an agency with specific landlord-tenant expertise or use the Legislative Reference Bureau, which has authority to conduct research for the legislature.
Realtor proposal and committee action: The Realtors proposed swapping the judiciary and the Attorney General's office in the working-group leadership. Committees adopted realtor-proposed amendments that effectively kept the Attorney General's office on the working group while swapping designated roles and adding the Office of Consumer Protection as a member. The committee passed the resolution with technical edits.
Why it matters: The working group is positioned to produce recommended code changes aimed at increasing housing supply, an issue of longstanding legislative interest in Hawaii. The Attorney General's comments highlight a procedural question—whether the department is the most effective convener or whether legislative research support is preferable.
Next steps: With committee passage of the amended resolution, the working group composition is set as amended; the Attorney General's office and other named stakeholders will consider their roles. Committees indicated they expect the working group to deliver legislative recommendations to inform possible bills in a future session.
