The Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection passed SB 376, a measure creating a tax credit for certain home fire-safety improvements, after adopting technical amendments and language changes during its Feb. 5, 2025, joint hearing.

Committee members said they would amend the bill to make the credit nonrefundable and to require third‑party certification for claims; they also removed several recapture provisions and directed technical edits. The committee recorded its recommendation as “pass with amendments” and the measure was adopted in the committee vote.

The bill drew testimony urging tighter definitions and clearer administration. Tom Yamachika of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii said the concept might be better administered as a subsidy so the state could control total outlays and cap program payments, and he pressed the committee to clarify who may claim the credit. “If it’s the one who’s doing the claim, then why are you allowing trusts, estates, partnerships, and corporations to claim the [credit], because they don’t have residences,” Yamachika told members. He also asked whether a qualifying residence must be owner‑occupied, how long a claimant must have occupied it, and whether second homes would qualify.

Committee discussion and the adopted amendments focused on tightening the mechanism for certification and on removing portions of the bill’s recapture language. Committee officers also said they would make unspecified technical amendments to the effective date and other language as needed.

The measure’s written record shows committee members voting in favor during the Feb. 5 decision session. The roll call included multiple committee members voting “aye”; one member was listed as excused during the vote.

The committee’s action advances the bill to the next step with the amended language; the full text of the adopted amendments will appear in the committee report.

The Tax Foundation of Hawaii and other testifiers suggested further statutory clarifications if the credit moves forward as amended.