SB146 Has Been Hijacked – Homeowners, Pay Attention
We understand your time is limited—and sometimes, even just adding your name can make a difference.
Keeping up with Hawai‘i’s legislative session and the many issues impacting our communities is overwhelming and, frankly, often frustrating.
That’s why we believe it’s time to work smarter—not in fragmented cliques, but together.
Every cause that uplifts our neighbors deserves attention, and right now, we must unite to protect condo and HOA residents across Hawai‘i. Our goal is simple: to ensure fair treatment and legal protections for the people who call these communities home.
By standing together, we can help shape a system that works for the people—not just the industry.
Keep scrolling to see the testimony—overwhelming opposition that legislators chose to ignore!
What Started as a Bill for Reform Is Now a Trojan Horse
When SB146 was first introduced, many of us—myself included—testified in support. We believed it was finally time for Hawai‘i’s legislature to rein in abusive practices in condominium governance, bring transparency to the process, and give homeowners the tools they need to stand up for their rights.
But now, in its latest form—SB146 SD1 HD1—this bill has become everything we feared: a tool to strip homeowners of due process protections, empower association lawyers, and chill legitimate legal action by making it too risky to pursue.
🧠 Who’s Behind This? Follow the Money—and the Narrative
This harmful version of the bill appears to be spearheaded by the local condo industry “experts”, a longtime representative of developer and condo association interests. They have:
- Led efforts to water down homeowner protections over the past decade.
- Publicly implied in legal journals that condo owners raising concerns may be mentally unstable (yes, really).
- Served as chair of the state CPR task force, where they previously attempted to push this exact rollback—and was voted down by homeowner advocates.
Now, the same bad idea is back—this time tucked into a bill with a misleading name and a long list of pages designed to hide the harm in plain sight.
🚨 SB146: What You Need to Know (and Why It Must Be Stopped)
SB146 SD1 HD2 has lost its way—and it’s putting condo owners at serious risk.
While it claims to promote alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and reduce the burden on courts, what this bill actually does is strip away one of the most vital legal protections owners had under the existing law.
❌ What’s been removed?
HRS §514B-157, a statute that:
- Encouraged good-faith mediation before litigation, and
- Protected owners from being forced to pay the association’s attorney fees if they tried mediation first and didn’t prevail in court.
This safe harbor is now gone. In its place, a new “winner-take-all” fee rule is being inserted, which means if an owner loses in court—even after trying to mediate—they could be forced to pay the full legal costs of the association.
🔍 This new system:
- Discourages owners from asserting their rights
- Makes it easier for boards and management companies to retaliate
- Gives more power to the same industry players that wrote the law
Even worse, language protecting whistleblower board members from liability for calling out fiduciary breaches has also been removed (see Page 21, lines 9–14 of SB146 HD2)2025 0404 SB146 SD1 HD2….
⚖️ The illusion of fairness
This bill puts a shiny “ADR” label on what is really a rigged system. The mediation and arbitration processes have been dominated by insiders with financial or professional ties to the very management companies and law firms that defend bad actors in the first place.
As Lila Mower, one of Hawai‘i’s most respected condo owner advocates, puts it:
“The original aim was misguided. It should have focused on fairness and neutrality in the ADR process—not just more mediation.”
She’s right.
🚨 Here’s what must be done:
We must urge all Representatives to vote NO on SB146 SD1 HD2 during its Third Reading (possibly as soon as Tuesday, April 8). If it passes:
- It goes to a conference committee where legislators from both chambers will reconcile versions.
- If that version passes final votes, it heads to the Governor’s desk.
If it becomes law, condo owners will suffer the consequences for years.
🛠️ What Hawai‘i really needs:
✅ A State-run, AOAO-funded HOA Office—independent from the industry—to educate, mediate, and hold boards accountable.
✅ Real protections for owners who act in good faith.
✅ A citizen-led task force made up of people who have lived through condo abuse—not industry insiders who profit from it.
📢 Take Action Now
Tell your Representative: VOTE NO ON SB146 HD2.
Share this blog, write your own letter, or use our templates to make your voice heard.
Together, we can stop this bill and demand the reforms Hawai‘i’s condo owners truly deserve.
Here is the actual text of the bill:
❌ KEY ISSUES THAT DIED (DEFERRED OR FAILED TO ADVANCE)
Unfortunately, many pro-owner reforms were deferred, effectively ending their chances this session. Notable topics that did not survive include:
- Owner Rights & Transparency
- Bills that would have enhanced owner access to records or increased transparency around board decisions and AOAO actions were shelved.
- Stronger Regulation of Property Managers
- Proposals to strengthen oversight of management companies and their fiduciary responsibilities to owners did not advance.
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Several bills attempting to reduce legal costs and provide fairer dispute resolution mechanisms for owners (outside of court) were deferred.
- Improved ADA Compliance and Protections for Elderly or Disabled Residents
- Legislation meant to ensure better compliance with federal disability access laws and protect vulnerable residents was not prioritized.
⚠️ NEXT STEPS
Condo owners should:
- Stay engaged as the live bills proceed to floor votes and conference committees.
- Begin planning to reintroduce key reforms in 2026, especially those related to owner rights and management accountability.
The final public testimony for SB146 begins at time marker 22:30
This CPC Hearing from 1/30/2025 starts at 13:36 in the video recording, written testimonies are below the video.
For an idea of who is who in this industry you just need to review the testimonies.