A bill backed by Governor Green would have allowed hotels and resorts to lease public beach land for their exclusive use. It generated more than a thousand written testimonies, almost all opposed, and was killed in committee before a single person testified. The measure is gone for this session, but what led to it should concern anyone who assumes Hawaii’s beaches, all of which are public, are untouchable simply because they are labeled that way.
Last year, a Hawaii court ruled that the Kahala Hotel and Resort could not exclusively control the public beach in front of it. The Board of Land and Natural Resources had allowed the hotel to operate under a permit arrangement that effectively restricted public access, and a judge said that crossed the line. The ruling did not invent a new right or create a new policy.
Instead, it confirmed what most people already believed: that the beach in front of a hotel is still public, even if the hotel would prefer to have it all to itself. Instead of treating that decision as the end of the matter, the state introduced a bill that would have reshaped the law.
The bill that redefined “public.”
SB 3148 was part of Governor Green’s administrative package. The bill would have redefined “public uses” of land to include use through agency disposition, creating a path for leasing those lands to private interests under certain conditions. That language may have seemed procedural, but it is anything but when the land in question is public shoreline sitting directly in front of hotels and resorts that already have strong financial incentives to manage who uses the sand.
If private commercial activity could be construed as public use simply because it occurred through a lease, then exclusive or semi-exclusive control of beach frontage would become far easier to justify. The Kahala case had just said a permit could not be used to wall off the public shoreline. This bill would have adjusted Hawaii’s definition of what counts as public in the first place.
Dead before the hearing began.
When the Senate committee convened, Chair Chris Lee announced the deferral immediately, saying the measure had “a whole bunch of issues” and would not move forward. There was no extended debate and no dramatic exchange because the bill was effectively over before testimony even began. The hearing item was brief and procedural, and the outcome was final, at least for this session.
DLNR, the state agency that supported the bill, did not defend it. A department representative stated that the Department of Land and Natural Resources did not object to the deferral. There was no attempt to argue that the language was misunderstood or needed only minor corrections. The agency that advanced the proposal on the governor’s behalf let it collapse without resistance.
The testimony that cut through the drafting.
Although the bill was deferred, the written testimony submitted clearly framed the issue. Elena Bryant stated, “many beaches are now overrun by tourists and blocked off by hotel beach chairs and umbrellas. This bill would allow hotels and resorts to lease and exclude the public from such spaces (beaches) for decades or longer.” That line resonated because it matched what many people have been watching on the sand here in Hawaii for years.
David Kimo Frankel called the bill silly and absurd. He described it as poorly written and poorly conceived, and said its philosophy was misguided.
“DLNR’s bill absurdly suggests that exclusive use by a hotel constitutes public use.” (David Kimo Frankel)
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs warned that the bill was an open invitation for widespread privatization of public trust lands and said, “This measure would perpetuate this pattern of unconstitutional DLNR/BLNR decision making by codifying the practice of placing private interests over the public interest.”
Hawaii County Council member Rebecca Villegas and Sierra Club director Wayne Tanaka both pointed to broader patterns within DLNR and questioned why the agency charged with protecting public land would seek authority that could weaken that very authority. Community members put it plainly that the beaches and lands where they grew up should be free for everybody. The opposition was not divided along ideological lines. It was almost universal.
The visitor gap.
No one in that hearing room represented the 10-plus million annual visitors whose Hawaii experience depends heavily on beach access. Visitors do not testify in Honolulu committee rooms, but they experience policy changes directly when they arrive at the shoreline. Over the years, readers have described a steady accumulation of friction.
Parking meters at public beach lots can function as access gates when flat-rate systems eliminate short stays. Timed parking limits feel restrictive when they cut into what most consider normal beach time. QR code systems and rising daily fees create a layer of friction that did not previously exist. Resort fees have been described by readers as including beach access, which raises eyebrows because no hotel owns the public sand that sits in front of it.
A broader squeeze.
We have already documented how wealthy landowners on Kauai’s North Shore have made access to certain beaches more complicated in Hawaii’s Public Beach Access Blocked: Taking On Wealthy Landowners, and we have examined the tension between vendors, hotels, and shared shoreline space in Hawaii Beachfront Turf Wars Erupt: Where Do Visitors Stand? The Kahala case itself was the focus of Hawaii’s Public Beaches at Risk? Court Ruling Slams State Over Access Battle, which made clear that public trust is not optional language.
At the same time, erosion continues to shrink beaches physically, and separate proposals this session would reopen the door to expanded shoreline hardening. All of these converge with the same outcome if left unchecked: less usable public beaches.
What remains.
The bill is dead for this session, and the door has effectively been closed on it moving forward this year. The House companion bill has not advanced either and is unlikely to. That is the immediate outcome.
But, DLNR supported the proposal, the governor introduced it, and the attorney general’s office cleared it for consideration. A court ruling reaffirmed public trust protections, and the response included legislation that would have changed how those protections are interpreted. Ideas introduced in one session often return the following year with revised language and narrower framing.
Hawaii’s beaches remain legally public, and that protection was upheld this week. The attempt to redefine what qualifies as a public use of public land is significant because the people who drafted this measure remain in place, and future versions may be less obvious.
Have you ever been turned away from a Hawaii beach by a hotel or resort, or felt like access was being restricted even though beaches are legally public?
Lead Photo: Copyright Beat of Hawaii at Kahala Resort.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
This just proves how badly the citizens of Hawaii are represented by their totally incompetent elected and appointed leaders.
This is the most stupid, insensitive, and environmentally unsound idea I’ve ever heard of! The governor should resign immediately! Just ridiculous and disgraceful to even consider supporting such an idea.
I live on the mainland and have been coming to Hawaii for 40+ years. October 2025 we stayed on Maui at Wailea Elua, which has this sweet beach, no lounge chairs and umbrellas lining the beach; just locals and tourists bringing their own chairs and sometimes an umbrella, families playing, friends laughing. The beaches to either side are lined with lounge chairs and umbrellas, two rows deep and available to hotel guests only. It was such a contrast and horrible: blocked the view when you walked the coastal path, unwelcoming and unfriendly. So I support the local pushback on “privatizing” the beaches with all my heart and love of Hawaii. The beaches are for everyone and should remain that way forever.
It’s no just there. Take a look at Waikiki, especially the Royal Hawaiian. They do the beach chair and umbrella thing there too, and no one squawks, but they should.
Definitely do not allow this to happen! We visited pan handle in FL last year and had a postage stamp piece of sand for use because the hotels in front our ours had roped off entire beach areas and had terribly rude “guard” harassing anyone who dared too close! Never will go back there.
I had (past tense) supported Gov. Green, thinking that a physician could do better managing Covid, than the last Governor. Well Covid is over & so are the wise decisions (if there ever were any) by Gov. Green. He should know that “tax and spend into oblivion” is the #1 reason for Hawaii’s physician shortage … docs can make twice as much on the mainland & have far less taxes. Gov. Green should also know that Hawaii’s public beach access has been a sacred thing, for decades. So he should know that we never want to have privately-owned beaches like Maine, Massachusetts, Delaware, Virginia, New Hampshire, & Washington State.
Governor continues to enrich hotels and does not care about native Hawaiians. One has to wonder if he has ownership in the hotels. The short term rental ban only hurts local businesses and enriches the hotels. Now he wants to take away the beaches from native Hawaiians and further enrich the hotels. Maybe more and more taxes isn’t the answer. We need some new blood with ideas
Many years ago, a wealthy Governor, Mr. West of Oregon, realized it wouldn’t take long for someone to allow the gorgeous Oregon Coast to be “owned,” like Miami beaches.
He made the Oregon Coast a “highway”, which no one can personally own. A man of integrity, who loved his state.
Governor West wasn’t going to allow the wealthy to own what belongs to every everyone.
My family goes back generations in, Tigard and Tualatin, some as mine, settled in Portland, some still in Sherwood Oregon.
Mountains and beaches were created for everyone to enjoy.
I am an Oregonian. Now, for quite sometime, have made Hawai’i my home.
This was a test to judge the public’s reaction and would lead to the proverbial “slippery slope”. If it was successful, soon after, other beaches would be unavailable to the public or available only with an entrance fee. We already pay to park at the beaches. Do we need to pay to access the ocean as well?
We really need new public officials who advocate for the people instead of for special interests.
Another example of the Green Administration overreach. How long will it take for the Hawaii residents to wake up and vote these idiots out of office?
Don’t forget to name and shame Senator Ronald Kouchi. If you live in Kauai, make sure he hears a kit how you feel about the idea.
If this doesn’t prove that the Governor is in the hotel lobby’s pocket, I don’t know what does.
Isn’t there an election coming up? Perhaps it’s time for a change.
It’s ridiculous that Green supported such a bill in the first place. This is a prime example of the voters of Hawaii needing to reconsider putting the same politicians back in power over and over again based solely on party affiliation. Wake up and start looking at their actual record.
This was just the beginning first trial balloon to see if anyone was paying attention and what reaction they’d get by proposing this measure.
Now that they’ve gotten their reaction they will repackage it into new a new bill over and over again until they get what Gov. Green stakeholders, big resort corp, wants.
So tired of hearing about Hawaii’s “tourist” issues. Hawaii’s economy was built and is sustained by tourism.
The decision to do away with vacation rentals already approved, excess charges on everything and now hotel entitlement (whom I’m sure “incentivize” people – Follow The Money) makes Hawaii a less and less desirable choice for a vacation.
I for one am looking for other islands that welcome All tourist without excess fees and bad attitudes towards them!
How horrifying that the Governor would consider taking the beaches away from Hawaiians! Hawaiians need to vote this loser out office and put somebody in office that respects the aina and them!
I’ve been coming to Hawaii for three decades and the hotel chair sprawl has absolutely grown worse. Used to be you could spread out anywhere. Now you feel like you’re trespassing.
I’m not anti-hotel and I know that tourism keeps the lights on. But there’s a line, and beaches are it. Funny how the same state that talks about protecting natural resources would tried to redefine “public use” like this. That doesn’t build trust at all.
I hope there will be enough public information before anything like this ever happens so that we can protest. I have seen 1st hand what privatization of beaches can do. I lived in the South of France from the mid 70’s to the late 80’s and all beaches were public. I still travel there almost yearly for a short summer vacation to see my friends and most beaches are now covered with chairs, tables and umbrellas that belong to resorts across the street. People can rent them for the day and they even built restaurants so the entire beach is privatized. I am not sure what would happen if you put your towel in front of all that, but it’s no fun! Let’s make sure we keep all Hawaiian beaches public! Once we allow one exception for one resort, it’s all over!
How terrible!! It’s unthinkable that the beaches would be given / or leased to hotels!! It’s an outrage to the Hawaiian people and to all those that love the islands! Vicky C 🩷🌴
I’m a resident and I don’t want hotels controlling beaches any more than visitors do. If it’s public, it’s public for everyone. Period and end of it. The state shouldn’t even be entertaining this stuff.
This is what makes people feel like Hawaii is slipping away. Parking fees, then reservations, now beach leases? That’s nuts.
I’ve stayed at Kahala many times – every few years or so and always assumed that small stretch of sand felt like “controlled access” even if technically public. If the court hadn’t stepped in, would that just have become permanent? That’s what worries me.
State of Hawaii has to pay for beach nourishment since beach belongs to state of Hawaii as public beach.