House committee advances agritourism rules, debates surveillance pricing and towing reforms

The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs met March 4 in conference room 325 and heard hours of testimony on a wide range of measures, from agritourism standards to limits on algorithmic pricing for groceries.

Committee members moved many bills forward after receiving testimony from state agencies, industry groups, and dozens of individuals. The hearing focused largely on trade‑offs between statewide standards and county discretion, consumer protections, and access to public lands and services.

The committee advanced HB2585 (HD2), which would create statewide uniform standards for agricultural tourism activities and require registration with county planning departments. Supporters including the Hawaii Farm Bureau and multiple farmers said the bill would help farmers supplement farm income and sustain operations. Leo Asan, administrator at the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, said OPSD "supports the intent" but cautioned that a proposed rebuttable presumption that agritourism is secondary could shift enforcement burdens onto counties and make compliance harder to police.

Several small‑farm owners urged targeted changes to protect hosted farm stays. "Revenue alone shouldn't determine whether a hosted stay is secondary," said Heather Karate, an owner‑operator in South Kona, urging a predominance‑of‑land test (for example, 85% agricultural use) and statewide guardrails that still let counties tailor modest health and safety standards for small operations.

Opponents and commenters worried about "gaming" the system — using an agritourism label to justify primarily commercial or development uses on agricultural land — and urged that counties retain enforcement authority and flexibility. The committee adopted technical and department‑recommended amendments and moved the measure forward for further consideration.

The committee also took up HB2458, a measure to prohibit surveillance pricing for food sales (with limited exemptions). Public‑health and anti‑hunger advocates told the committee that algorithmic price differentials can target SNAP and WIC users at moments of greatest need, worsening food insecurity. "Surveillance pricing allows companies to use purchasing and browsing data to charge different prices for the same goods," said Chris Coughfield of the Hawaii Public Health Institute.

Small grocers and hunger advocates testified in strong support. Joel Edwards, owner of a rural community store, said surveillance pricing "would widen the gap between large retailers and local stores" and harm SNAP customers who rely on predictable pricing.

Technology trade groups and business associations cautioned that a broad ban might eliminate consumer‑facing personalized discounts that help many shoppers. Robert Singleton of the Chamber of Progress said the bill, as amended, could sweep in loyalty programs and remove pro‑consumer price personalization. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs asked the committee to adopt one of its recommended amendments and noted the need for enforcement resources; the committee adopted the first DCCA amendment and moved HB2458 forward without adding the DCCA funding request.

Members also approved creating a towing‑practices working group under HB2375 to examine state and county rules for towing from public parking facilities. DCCA testified in respectful opposition, noting existing statutory authority and enforcement channels; community advocates from coastal access and harbor communities urged new rules that prioritize citation before tow, better vendor monitoring, and representation for public‑access users on the working group. Kate Thompson of SaveSurfParking.org urged the committee to require comparative reporting of tow:ticket ratios at harbors to expose enforcement disparities.

Other notable measures the committee advanced included: - HB2151 (hemp building material): Witnesses (including Harvey Stone and the Hawaii Farm Bureau) supported authorizing hempcrete in building codes, highlighting local hemp production, carbon benefits and potential local manufacturing. - HB2442 (accessible parking): Disability advocates and the Disability and Communication Access Board backed a bill to increase required accessible and van‑accessible parking and proposed technical corrections to calculations and terminology. - HB2197 (squatting/process to remove unauthorized occupants): Deputy Attorney General Mark Tom recommended safeguards for affidavit‑based removal processes and reconsideration of definitions such as "immediate family"; the Realtors association suggested friendly amendments.

The committee reserved or deferred a few items for more study (notably HB1712 regarding State Building Code Council membership changes) and accepted a range of technical and department‑recommended amendments on multiple bills. Chair Tarnes repeatedly signaled an intent to preserve county discretion where practicable while advancing statewide protections or floors.

Votes at a glance (committee action on March 4): HB2395 (marine deposits) — Recommendation adopted (technical amendments) HB2585 (agritourism, HD2) — Recommendation adopted (technical and department amendments; reservations noted) HB1728 (rainwater catchment) — Moved forward as is (defective effective date to be corrected) HB1881 (passenger ropeways) — Recommendation adopted (defective effective date) HB1990 (residential real property enforcement) — Recommendation adopted with AG amendments HB1712 (State Building Code Council membership) — Deferred HB2151 (hemp/building materials) — Recommendation adopted (technical amendments) HB2424 (land‑use reclassification window) — Recommendation adopted (technical amendments and clarifying language about pending petitions) HB2197 (squatting/property) — Recommendation adopted with clarified elements defining squatting intent HB2458 (surveillance pricing) — Recommendation adopted with one DCCA amendment; funding requests not added HB1877 (LGBTQ+ Commission expansion) — Moved forward as is HB2375 (towing practices) — Recommendation adopted (moved forward as is) HB2417 (admin license revocation) — Recommendation adopted with AG amendments HB2442 (accessible parking) — Recommendation adopted with technical and ratio corrections HB1737 (farm employee housing) — Recommendation adopted (technical amendments)

What happens next: Most bills advanced from the committee will be reported to the next House committee or to the floor with the amendments noted by the chair; several measures were advanced with directions to refine statutory language, and a handful were deferred for further study. Where agencies asked for funding to enforce new duties (notably DCCA on surveillance pricing), committee members left resource decisions to appropriations processes.

Reporting: Testimony and written exhibits were entered into the record for each measure; committee staff will incorporate the technical/AG amendments the chair adopted before transmittal.