STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2461

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3011

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 Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 3011 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to allow any resident of a public housing project or state low-income housing project to keep one or more pet animals in the resident's unit, subject to applicable state laws, county ordinances, and any reasonable conditions;

(2) Provide that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority may charge a refundable deposit for each pet animal but shall not impose a monthly pet fee or pet rent; and

(3) Allow the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to remove a vicious animal to protect persons or property.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiian Humane Society, Humane World for Animals, Animal Interfaith Alliance in Britain, Kitty Charm Farm, and twenty-five individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

Your Committee finds that lack of access to pet-friendly housing is one of the most common reasons that pet owners surrender pets to the Hawaiian Humane Society. For instance, a 2024 survey of households on Oahu found that thirty percent of families who had surrendered a pet in the past five years did so because they could not find housing that would accommodate a pet. Additionally, the 2024 Point in Time count for Oahu conducted by Partners in Care found that approximately thirty percent of the island's unsheltered population reported owning at least one pet. These results demonstrate that even in extreme circumstances, individuals and families are often unwilling to give up their pets.

Your Committee notes, however, that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority has no records of tenants being denied housing due to pet ownership. Nevertheless, to ensure Hawaii Public Housing Authority properties can accommodate pets according to the requirements of this measure, amendments are necessary to account for operational, safety, and infrastructure concerns.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a blank appropriation for fifty site modifications for phase I and for five full-time equivalent (5.0 FTE) positions within the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, to be distributed as follows:

(A) One position for the County of Kauai;

(B) One position for the County of Maui;

(C) One position for the County of Hawaii; and

(D) Two positions for the City and County of Honolulu;

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

Your Committee notes that this measure, as amended, contains an unspecified appropriation amount. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider inserting an appropriation amount of $10,000,000 for site modifications and $290,000 per year in reoccurring general funds for five full-time equivalent (5.0 FTE) positions within the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3011, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3011, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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STANLEY CHANG, Chair