SB2862

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Act 127, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, established a special action team on affordable rental housing to recommend ways to increase the supply of rental housing, particularly rental housing affordable to low- and moderate-income families. The special action team was required to produce a ten-year plan that inventoried available housing parcels and assessed housing needs for persons with low or no income, such as the disabled and functionally challenged populations.

The legislature further finds that the legislature created the ohana zones program in 2018 in response to emergency proclamations from the governor that declared homelessness to be a crisis. In addition, various temporary housing and shelter initiatives were implemented or proposed by the State, the counties, and nonprofit organizations, including ohana zones, the kauhale initiative, and the homeless outreach and navigation for unsheltered persons program. In 2021, the legislature established the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions to determine the State's specific housing and homelessness service needs and to create and lead a coordinated statewide response to homelessness.

The legislature recognizes that, other than a ten-year plan by the Hawaii interagency council on homelessness in 2022, the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions has not itself created a plan to fulfill its statutory mission to address homelessness in the State. The legislature also recognizes that the January 2025 report from the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions was merely an assembly of plans from other state and county agencies; the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions did not present a coordinated statewide plan of its own. The legislature is further concerned that the point-in-time count, which is the main metric by which the State may assess whether homelessness goals are being met, was canceled for the city and county of Honolulu in 2025.

The legislature finds that the coordinator on homelessness, who serves as the leader of the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions, was requested to create a plan that delineates clear pathways to stable housing for different demographic groups experiencing homelessness. These discrete pathways are critical because different demographic groups may face very different issues when seeking stable housing. Therefore, the pathway to stable housing for individuals who are functionally challenged will likely be different than the pathways for kupuna, youth who have just aged out of foster homes, and persons who were recently released from incarceration.

The legislature is also concerned that the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions has appeared to be disproportionately focused on the city and county of Honolulu. For example, a recent budget request prioritized $8,000,000 for the city and county of Honolulu's homeless outreach and navigation for unsheltered persons program over other counties' requests. This request seemingly contradicted the conclusion of the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions' own 2025 report, which recognized that "diversion programs only work to help end homelessness if there are places for people to 'transition' and 'divert' into." The budget request also failed to consider the special action team on affordable rental housing's 2018 report addressing the needs of persons with low or no income.

The legislature concludes that it is critical that the coordinator on homelessness and other high-level officials within the executive branch be answerable to the needs of the entire State. One way to promote accountability and to ensure that these positions are filled by qualified individuals is to require appointments to these positions to be subject to the advice and consent of the senate.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Require any person who is appointed by the governor to serve in the executive branch in a position that is not subject to the civil service law to obtain the advice and consent of the senate if that person's annual salary is greater than $160,000 and is not paid from the budget of the office of the governor; and

(2) Require persons who currently serve in positions that are made subject to the advice and consent of the senate by this Act to obtain the advice and consent of the senate during the regular session of 2027.

SECTION 2. Chapter 26, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part II to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§26- Gubernatorial appointments; salaries; senate confirmation. (a) Any person appointed by the governor to serve in the executive branch shall obtain the advice and consent of the senate if the person's annual salary:

(1) Is greater than $160,000; and

(2) Is not paid from the budget of the office of the governor.

(b) If a person who would be subject to senate confirmation under this section is required to obtain the advice and consent of the senate under any other law, the provisions of that law shall supersede any conflicting provisions of this section.

(c) As used in this section, "person appointed by the governor to serve in the executive branch" means a person appointed by the governor to serve in a salaried position in the executive branch that is not subject to chapter 76."

SECTION 3. (a) No later than the forty-first day of the regular session of 2027, the governor shall transmit governor's messages to the senate president containing nominations for each gubernatorial appointee who was appointed to their position before the effective date of this Act and whose annual salary is greater than $160,000 and is not paid from the budget of the office of the governor.

(b) No gubernatorial appointee nominated pursuant to subsection (a) shall continue to serve in that person's position after the adjournment sine die of the regular session of 2027 unless the person obtains the advice and consent of the senate.

SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2862
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII