STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3693

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1838

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1838, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ZONING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Expand the zoning powers of counties; and

(2) Expand the scope of the transient accommodations tax law to include certain shelters and vehicles with sleeping accommodations.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui, one member of the Maui County Council, one member of the Kauaʻi County Council, Puakukui Owners Residents Neighborhood Organization, Kohala Coast Resort Association, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, UNITE HERE Local 5, Help Maui Rise, Tagnawa, Hawaiʻi Lodging and Tourism Association, Jewish Voice for Peace Hawaiʻi, Maui Housing Hui, Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action, ILWU Local 142, Lāhainā Strong, Green Party of Hawaiʻi, and more than two hundred individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Oʻahu Short-Term Rental Alliance; Maui Paradise Properties; Hawaii First Realty LLC; Hawaii Legal Short Term Rental Alliance; REALTORS Association of Maui, Inc.; Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS; Hawaiʻi Mid and Short-Term Rental Alliance; Kauaʻi Board of REALTORS; Maui Chamber of Commerce; Maui Vacation Rental Association; Tiki Moon Villas; Rental By Owner Awareness Association; West Hawaii Association of REALTORS; Aloha Vacation Rentals; Serendipity Associates; Honolulu Board of REALTORS; ZEN, Inc.; Kamaʻāina Occupied Short-Term Rentals Oʻahu; Molokai Vacation Properties; and more than five hundred fifteen individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation, Maui Hotel and Lodging Association, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Airbnb, Tax Foundation of Hawaii, and four individuals.

Your Committees find that there is an acute shortage of long-term housing options for residents, which is exacerbated when existing inventory is reserved for visitor use only. Your Committees believe that while the counties are working to address housing demand, they should also be empowered to gradually phase out the use of short-term rentals over time. This measure will increase the availability of long-term housing options by encouraging housing to be used for the purpose of providing long-term homes for the State's residents.

Your Committees have amended this measure by making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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 H.B. No. 1838, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1838, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair