STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3336

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2444

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Government Operations, to which was referred H.B. No. 2444, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to condition the authority of a qualifying county to exercise the same state housing powers as those granted to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation on a finding that the county has fulfilled its duty to accept dedication of public infrastructure and public highways in affordable housing developments.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.

Your Committee finds that the State continues to experience a chronic shortage of affordable housing. Your Committee further finds that efforts to address this shortage are hampered when counties fail to accept the dedication of infrastructure improvements in a timely manner. For example, despite the passage of more than thirty years, the City and County of Honolulu has still not accepted dedication of infrastructure improvements constructed by a Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation predecessor agency in connection with the development of the Villages of Kapolei.  Your Committee additionally finds that while the City and County of Honolulu receives the real property tax revenues derived, in part, from the State's infrastructure improvements, its failure to accept dedication of those improvements forces the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to maintain those improvements at considerable expense.  Accordingly, this measure will enable the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to make better use of funds for the development of new infrastructure for affordable housing projects in the State by promoting timely county acceptance of the dedication of public infrastructure improvements.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making it effective upon its approval.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2444, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2444, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Government Operations,

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SHARON MORIWAKI, Chair