STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1104

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 937

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 937, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LAND USE COMMISSION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to reform the decision-making process of the Land Use Commission by:

(1) Clarifying that a simple majority of affirmative votes of the members of the Land Use Commission present at a meeting and qualified to vote is required for any boundary amendment; and

(2) Reducing the number of days within which the Land Use Commission must act for certain actions related to amendments to district boundaries.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Land Use Commission and the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.

Your Committees find that one of the major causes for the slow production of housing in the State are the delays that stem from the long and unpredictable planning and permitting process. According to testimony received by your Committees, the State's average delay in the permit and approval process is three times the length of the national mean. This measure seeks to expedite the necessary approval from the Land Use Commission for any boundary amendments, especially district boundaries involving land areas greater than fifteen acres.

Your Committees note the concerns raised by the Land Use Commission regarding the reduction of days within which it must conduct a hearing and vote to approve, deny, or modify a petition to amend district boundaries involving land areas greater than fifteen acres, and find that this merits further consideration. Your Committees respectfully request that these issues and concerns be examined as this measure moves forward in the legislative process.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 937, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair