Legislative Session to Begin

On Wednesday, January 18, 2006, the Hawaii State Legislature will open at 10:00 a.m. and will adjourn after 60 legislative days. Due to weekends, holidays, and recesses, the Legislature will adjourn on May 4, 2006. The Legislative Timetable contains the various deadlines for the session. This is the second year of the biennial session. This means that any bills introduced last year can still be considered in the 2006 session. These are called "Carried Over Measures". In addition, new bills can be introduced. The deadline for introduction of bills is January 25, 2006. As I've done before, I'll provide information about the bills that affect community associations.

Most bills affecting community associations will be heard by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing Committee chaired by Senator Ron Menor and the House Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee chaired by Rep. Robert N. Herkes. Rep. Herkes is the new chair of the committee after the resignation of former Representative Ken Hiraki. Other committees will also hear legislation that affects community associations.

It's difficult to predict what kinds of bills will be considered by the legislature. We are certain that a bill tweaking the Recodification will be heard by the Legislature. We've heard rumours that a bill to expand the Pilot Condo Court Project to apply to planned community associations will be introduced. Other than that, virtually anything is a possibility.