§46-80  Improvement by assessment; financing; commercial property assessed financing program.  (a)  Any county having a charter may enact an ordinance, and may amend the same from time to time, providing for the making and financing of improvement districts in the county, and the improvements may be made and financed under the ordinance.  The county may issue and sell bonds to provide funds for the improvements.  Bonds issued to provide funds for the improvements may be either bonds when the only security therefor is the properties benefited or improved or the assessments thereon or bonds payable from taxes or secured by the taxing power of the county.  If the bonds are secured only by the properties benefited or improved or the assessments thereon, the bonds shall be issued according and subject to the provisions of the ordinance.  If the bonds are payable from taxes or secured by the taxing power, the bonds shall be issued according and subject to chapter 47.  Except as is otherwise provided in section 46-80.1, in assessing land for improvements a county shall assess the land within an improvement district according to the special benefits conferred upon the land by the special improvement; these methods include assessment on a frontage basis or according to the area of land within an improvement district, or any other assessment method that assesses the land according to the special benefit conferred, or any combination thereof.

     (b)  There is established a special improvement program to be known as a commercial property assessed financing program, which shall be administered by the Hawaii green infrastructure authority.  A commercial property owner may apply to a commercial property assessed financing lender, approved by the authority, for property assessed financing to pay the cost of qualifying improvements and enter into a commercial property assessed financing contract with a commercial property assessed financing lender and the authority.  Costs incurred for qualifying improvements shall be levied and collected by each county, as provided in section 196-64.5, as a non-ad valorem special tax assessment on the benefitted commercial property.  The authority, on behalf of the State, shall authorize commercial property assessed financing assessment contracts as instruments of indebtedness in the form as may be prescribed by the authority.  Commercial property assessed financing assessment contracts authorized to finance qualifying improvements, when the only security is the non-ad valorem special tax assessment levied against benefitted or improved commercial property, shall be excluded from any determination of the power of the State to issue general obligation bonds or funded debt for purposes of section 13 of article VII of the state constitution.

     (c)  Any county having a charter may enact an ordinance, and may amend the same from time to time, to establish a special improvement program containing the same elements as the commercial property assessed financing program authorized under chapter 196 and subsection (b), except that any program that is established shall be administered by the county in lieu of administration by the authority.  The county shall assume all of the responsibilities of the authority provided in chapter 196 and subsection (b), including determining qualifying improvements eligible for property assessed financing.  A commercial property owner may apply to the county for property assessed financing to pay the costs of qualifying improvements and enter into a commercial property assessed financing assessment contract with an approved commercial property assessed financing lender and the county.  Costs incurred for qualifying improvements shall be levied and collected by each county, as provided in section 196-64.5, as a non-ad valorem special tax assessment on the benefitted commercial property.  The county may issue revenue bonds to finance or refinance the improvements, and the form of any revenue bond may be a commercial property assessed financing assessment contract or other instrument prescribed by the county.  Bonds issued to finance qualifying improvements, when the only security is the non-ad valorem special tax assessment levied against benefitted or improved commercial property, shall be excluded from any determination of the power of the county to issue general obligation bonds or funded debt for purposes of article VII, section 13, of the state constitution. [L 1976, c 105, §1; am L 1978, c 180, §1(2); am L 1992, c 226, §3; am L 2022, c 183, §3]

Law Journals and Reviews

  Improvements by Assessment in Hawaii.  14 HBJ 139.