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Committee passes SB 2987 with SD1 adding exemptions and technical fixes
Summary
The committee passed SB 2987 to establish statewide outdoor-lighting requirements with an SD1 that added exemptions for airports, highways and harbors and moved an effective date; the University of Hawaii offered a campus-zoning amendment and multiple stakeholders testified for and against.
On Feb. 12, 2026 the Senate committee passed Senate Bill 2987 with an SD1 that included technical and non-substantive amendments, an exemption carve-out for airports, highways and harbors, and a revised effective date recorded in the hearing.
Doug Simons of the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy told the committee the university “strongly supports Senate Bill 2,987” to protect Hawaii’s dark night skies, safeguard native wildlife, reduce energy waste and preserve cultural and scientific value. Simons offered a targeted amendment for university and school campuses to identify primary, secondary and tertiary zones for tailoring lighting controls according to foot-traffic and safety needs.
The transcript records a series of registered supporters, including Mauna Kea Observatory and Design Lights, and industry opponents including Matson Navigation Company and Young Brothers. The chair proposed an amendment to exempt outdoor light fixtures for airports, highways and harbors from the bill’s standards and to set a later effective date; the committee adopted the SD1 and the recorded recommendation was adopted by voice/aye confirmations with two members noted as excused.
The committee did not record additional technical text beyond the SD1 language announced at the hearing; staff will incorporate the committee’s technical edits into the bill draft and report.
