STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2120

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2063

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2063 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require any government agency that exercises its authority to develop low- or moderate-income housing projects to process any low- or moderate-income housing project that meets the development requirements of chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and applicable administrative rules.

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

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii has both the highest median home prices and the highest level of regulation on housing development. This puts stress on residents and housing developers within the State. This measure will prohibit the counties from imposing stricter income requirements than what is already in statute on applicable housing developments, aiming to alleviate some of this stress for the residents of the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language prohibiting the legislative body of a county from imposing income requirements that are lower than those adopted or established by the State;

(2) Deleting language that would have required any governmental agency that exercises its authority to develop low- or moderate-income housing projects to process any such project that meets the development requirements of chapter 201H; Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2063, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2063, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

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STANLEY CHANG, Chair