Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Hawaii State Legislature, fetched 2026-08-29. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official page appears here in brackets. This is the first conference draft. The official bill page.
THE SENATE S.B. NO. 2543 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D. 2 STATE OF HAWAII H.D. 2 C.D. 1 A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. (a) There is established within the office of the comptroller a five-year office of the state construction manager pilot program, which shall be headed by a full-time state construction manager, to provide guidance and recommendations on the design review of state construction projects pursuant to this section. The state construction manager shall be hired by the comptroller without regard to chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and report to the comptroller. (b) To be eligible to serve in the position of state construction manager, an individual shall have held a valid license under chapter 464, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for at least five years immediately preceding the date of hire. (c) The state construction manager shall not engage in the private practice of professional construction management or serve in a managing capacity in any private business or enterprise. (d) The salary of the state construction manager shall be established by the comptroller. (e) Except as provided in subsection (f), the office of the state construction manager shall provide guidance and recommendations on the design review of state construction projects with an estimated design value of $2,000,000 or more that are administered by the department of accounting and general services or the department of education and located in any county with a population of less than five hundred thousand. The office of the state construction manager shall: (1) Review all plans, drawings, specifications, and any other documents necessary for state construction projects, and ensure the final plans, drawings, specifications, and other documents reviewed are submitted to the disability and communication access board for review to ensure compliance with any applicable accessibility laws as required under section 103-50, Hawaii Revised Statutes; provided that any changes to the final plans, drawings, specifications, or other documents shall require resubmittal to the disability and communication access board for review; (2) Provide exclusive centralized design review services for state construction projects subject to this section; (3) Assign an inspector to each eligible state construction project for the purpose of observing the construction work; and (4) Assign employees to the department of public works of each applicable county who shall have the sole responsibility for reviewing and approving permit applications submitted for state construction projects administered by the department of accounting and general services or the department of education in the respective county. The county agencies under this paragraph shall not assign any other work to these employees. (f) The department of education may opt into the pilot program for specific complex projects and shall not be required to subject all of its capital improvement projects to the review process set forth in subsection (e). (g) The cost of all design review services performed by the office of the state construction manager for a state agency shall be determined by the comptroller, in consultation with the state construction manager. (h) All fees collected pursuant to subsection (g) shall be deposited with the comptroller to the credit of the design review special fund established by subsection (i). (i) There is established in the state treasury the design review special fund to be administered and expended by the comptroller for the purposes of this Act, into which shall be deposited: (1) Fees collected for services provided to state agencies pursuant to this section; (2) Appropriations made by the legislature to the special fund; and (3) Interest earned or accrued on moneys in the special fund. Moneys remaining on balance in the design review special fund at the close of each fiscal year shall remain in the special fund and shall not lapse to the credit of the state general fund until after the dissolution of the office of the state construction manager pilot program. No funds appropriated to the department of education for operating expenses or capital improvements shall be diverted or used to finance or support the design review special fund. (j) No later than December 31, 2027, the comptroller, in consultation with the state construction manager, shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to implement this section. (k) The office of the state construction manager shall prepare and submit an annual report on the office of the state construction manager pilot program to the governor and legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular sessions of 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031. The report shall include: (1) A summary describing the activities of the office of the state construction manager, including but not limited to a list and description of each state construction project that received a design review during the preceding fiscal year; (2) A financial report on the status of the design review special fund established by subsection (i); (3) An assessment of whether the pilot program should be extended; and (4) Other findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation. (l) The office of the state construction manager pilot program shall be dissolved on June 30, 2031. (m) As used in this section: "State agency" means the department of accounting and general services and the department of education. "State construction project" means any undertaking of work or improvement of state lands or any interest therein, developed, acquired, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated, improved, altered, or repaired by a state agency. "State lands" means all lands owned by the State through any state agency. SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $3,034,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the implementation of the office of the state construction manager pilot program established pursuant to section 1 of this Act, including the establishment of: (1) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) state construction manager position within the office of the comptroller; and (2) Five full-time equivalent (5.0 FTE) positions within the office of the state construction manager, including three full-time equivalent (3.0 FTE) positions to be assigned to applicable county agencies. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of accounting and general services for the purposes of this Act. SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.