STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2135

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2337

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. 2337 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to expand the counties' authority to facilitate the development, construction, financing, refinancing, or other provision of mixed-income projects and mixed-use developments, including low- and moderate-income housing projects, and issue bonds for this purpose.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Office of Housing of the City and County of Honolulu, Pacific Resource Partnership, Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, and Hawaiʻi YIMBY.

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

Your Committee finds that, while the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation is authorized to facilitate the development, construction, financing, and refinancing of mixed-use developments, including low- and moderate-income housing projects, under existing law, the counties are not authorized to use affordable housing bonds to develop mixed-use housing projects. The ability to plan, design, and construct mixed-use development is essential to efforts to develop affordable housing projects in transient-oriented communities, which provide residents access to commercial, retail, institutional, educational, and government services, combined with convenient access to multi-modal transportation networks. This measure remedies this inconsistency by providing the counties with the same authority as the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation with respect to mixed-use development.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language referencing "mixed-income projects" throughout the measure;

(2) Deleting the definition of "mixed-income projects"; and

(3) Deleting language that would have authorized units in low- and moderate-income housing projects to be made available to households with higher incomes if there is an insufficient number of persons or families who meet the income qualifying requirements.

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. 2337, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2337, 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