HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2220
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to the Hawaii community development authority.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 206E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§206E-    Community action center; established. (a) The authority shall establish a community action center in or near the Chinatown area of Honolulu. The community action center shall be a physical location and shall serve as a community resource for creating positive changes in Honolulu's urban core.

(b) The authority may contract with one or more nonprofit organizations to administer the community action center and complete the actions required by subsection (c).

(c) The authority shall:

(1) Identify and organize community stakeholders and other community-based organizations that may contribute to the community action center;

(2) Use the community action center to gather information about existing zoning, design, and regulatory constraints that inhibit development in Honolulu's urban core and disseminate drafts of alternative laws, policies, or rules to remove or reduce the constraints to members of the community for approval prior to proposal to the appropriate government entity;

(3) Open the community action center with a community design workshop exhibiting Chinatown's history from its origins as an important Native Hawaiian settlement to the present day;

(4) Use the community action center to provide design and permitting information to assist property owners, business owners, and developers who are considering property improvements to lands within Honolulu's urban core;

(5) Conduct at least two community design workshops per year to facilitate stakeholder participation in the requirements of this Act;

(6) Assess the physical, social, and economic conditions of every property in the Chinatown area;

(7) Analyze existing uses of every property in the Chinatown area and its preservation, adaptive reuse, or new building potential to increase mixed-use and economic diversity;

(8) Organize art projects for vacant storefronts and street improvements in the Chinatown area;

(9) Organize projects to improve the facades of the buildings in the Chinatown area;

(10) Seek additional state funding to develop the Iwilei, Chinatown, and downtown areas of Honolulu into a living cultural tourism zone;

(11) Draft a strategic economic and physical revitalization design implementation plan for the Chinatown area with designated projects for Honolulu city council legislation; and

(12) Work with the Honolulu authority for rapid transportation to better design and integrate the Chinatown and nearby rail stations with their neighborhoods."

SECTION 2. No later than twenty days before the regular sessions of 2028, 2029, and 2030, the Hawaii community development authority shall submit a report to the legislature on the:

(1) Status of establishing the community action center under section 206E- (a), Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(2) Actions taken in response to the requirements under section 206E- (c), Hawaii Revised Statutes.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $2,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the establishment of the community action center and the requirements of this Act; provided that no funds shall be expended unless matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by funds from the city and county of Honolulu.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii community development authority for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Community Action Center; Chinatown; HCDA; City and County of Honolulu; Matching Funds; Appropriation

Description:

Requires the Hawaii Community Development Authority to establish a Community Action Center in Chinatown. Expenditure contingent upon the City and County of Honolulu providing matching funds. Appropriation.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.