STAND. COM. REP. NO. 378

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 861

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 Housing and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 861 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING SAVINGS ACCOUNTS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to direct the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study of a housing savings account system.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Credit Union League. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Your Committees find that affordable housing in the State has reached crisis levels. Creative solutions are needed to combat this crisis. This measure requires a study of the viability of establishing a housing savings account system for employees and employers. However, your Committees received testimony from the Legislative Reference Bureau expressing concerns that the agency lacks the subject matter expertise to conduct the study as requested.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Authorizing the Legislative Reference Bureau to contract for services to conduct the study;

(2) Extending the timeframe for completion of the study and the report to the Legislature to 2025; and

(3) Inserting an appropriation in the amount of $500,000 for the Legislative Reference Bureau to contract for services to complete the study.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 861, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 861, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Government Operations,

________________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair