STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1226

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 525

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 525, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHER HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify that the Department of Education may construct housing for teachers on a public school campus; and

(2) Require that housing units constructed or acquired on a school campus after June 30, 2021, be rented at an affordable cost to new teachers or teachers teaching in a rural or hard-to-staff location, with priority given to teachers employed full-time at the school where the housing unit is located.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Hawaii Association of REALTORS, General Contractors Association of Hawaii, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME, AFL-CIO.

Your Committees find that Hawaii continues to suffer from a shortage of licensed teachers. Financial incentives and affordable options for teacher housing are key strategies for the recruitment and retention of teachers, particularly given that Hawaii's teacher salaries continue to trail the nation when adjusted for cost of living. Housing in Hawaii is a big portion of each teacher's paycheck. This measure will enable the building of more affordable teacher housing, which will assist teachers in attaining sustainable and stable residency and make the teaching profession more attractive to teachers in Hawaii.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Directing the Department of Education to partner with the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, and the School Facilities Agency in the construction of teacher housing facilities on school campuses;

(2) Clarifying that the rental units should be rented at an affordable rate comparable to existing teacher housing;

(3) Excluding teachers that own other residential real estate from renting units at the teacher housing facility; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 525, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 525, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Housing,

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair

________________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair