STAND. COM. REP. NO. 581

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 225

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 225 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to promote transit-oriented development.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Specifies that the cost of regional infrastructure improvements made by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation may be assessed against transit-oriented development projects specifically benefiting from the improvements; and

(2) Requires the Hawaii Interagency Council for Transit-Oriented Development to review and make recommendations on applications for subaccount funds for infrastructure projects related to transit-oriented development.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of Planning, Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Hawaii Interagency Council for Transit-Oriented Development, and Coral Fish Hawaii/Hawaii Sustainable Reef Fisheries.

Your Committee finds that the cost of off-site infrastructure is a major barrier to the achievement of transit-oriented development potential statewide. Your Committee believes that this measure would help to facilitate state investment in needed transit-oriented development infrastructure by allowing the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to recover costs to help offset the significant costs of regional infrastructure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 225, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 225, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair