STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3268

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2122

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2122, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHER HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Teacher Housing Assistance Program to provide housing vouchers to certain eligible teachers; and

(2) Appropriate funds out of the Teachers' Housing Revolving Fund.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Public Charter School Commission, Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, KumuKonnect, Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Education Caucus, Teach for America Hawaiʻi, Aloha United Way, and five individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of Collective Bargaining.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee finds that the State's average teacher salaries are the lowest in the nation when adjusted for cost of living, creating a significant barrier to resolving the ongoing educator shortage. The ten percent educator turnover rate, primarily driven by cost of living, diminishes institutional return on investment for the public education system and depresses learning outcomes for the future workforce. Housing costs, which are twice the national average, constitute a major factor in local teachers' affordability struggles. This measure, while it remains a work in progress as it moves through the Legislative process, could offer a notable benefit to help offset the low wages experienced by the State's educators, thereby aiding recruitment and retention efforts and supporting superior educational outcomes.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 31, 2055, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2122, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2122, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

________________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair