Hawaii HCR66: Requesting the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to Conduct a Study on the Effect of State and County Tax Structures and Programs on the Long-term Economic Growth of the State of Hawaii.

What the bill says

From the introduced text:

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF STATE AND COUNTY TAX STRUCTURES AND PROGRAMS ON THE LONG-TERM ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE STATE OF HAWAII. WHEREAS, while Act 142, Session Laws of Hawaii, 2024, states that new business formations have grown by thirty-seven percent in Hawaii since the beginning of 2020, this is well below the national average and among the bottom ten states nationally; and WHEREAS, in the latest comprehensive entrepreneurial study from the Kauffman Foundation, Hawaii's early survival rate for startups is the lowest in the country; and WHEREAS, self-employment rates in Hawaii have consistently been lower than in the rest of the United States and, in 2020, Hawaii ranked fortieth for the State's percentage of self-employed individuals; and WHEREAS, the state and county tax structures are factors in business investment decisions and often affect the movement of individuals both within, and to and from, the State; and WHEREAS, reports show that generally both companies and individuals are more likely to move to locations that have lower taxes; and WHEREAS, Hawaii recently ranked sixth-highest in the country for state and local taxes per capita and was ranked forty-second for business climate by the Tax Foundation; and WHEREAS, …

Read the full official text

Sponsors

• Kyle Yamashita (D, 12) · primary sponsor

Latest actions

1. April 10, 2026: Referred to EDT, WAM.
2. April 10, 2026: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 547).
3. April 9, 2026: Transmitted to Senate.
4. April 9, 2026: Adopted with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1).
5. April 9, 2026: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1946-26), recommending adoption.
6. April 7, 2026: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa, Reyes Oda.
7. April 2, 2026: Scheduled for decision making on Tuesday, 04-07-26 10:05AM in conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
8. April 1, 2026: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
9. April 1, 2026: Reported from ECD (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1643-26), recommending referral to FIN.
10. March 27, 2026: The committee on ECD recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Ilagan, Hussey, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Tam.

Votes

• Adopted with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1) (April 9, 2026): 50 yea, 0 nay, passed
• FIN: recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED (April 7, 2026): 14 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0) (April 1, 2026): 51 yea, 0 nay, passed
• ECD: recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED (March 27, 2026): 5 yea, 0 nay, passed

Common questions

What is HCR66?

HCR66 is a bill in the Hawaii Legislature (2026 Regular Session): Requesting the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to Conduct a Study on the Effect of State and County Tax Structures and Programs on the Long-term Economic Growth of the State of Hawaii.

What is the status of HCR66?

In committee as of April 10, 2026. Latest action: Referred to EDT, WAM. (April 10, 2026).

Who sponsored HCR66?

Kyle Yamashita (D, 12).

Where is the official record for HCR66?

On the Hawaii Legislature website: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HCR&billnumber=66&year=2026