STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2843

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3218

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3218, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BONDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to promote housing development in the State.

More specifically, this measure conforms state law concerning county debt limits to permit counties to exclude housing infrastructure growth bonds from the debt limit of the counties, if a constitutional amendment is ratified authorizing the use of housing infrastructure growth bonds and excluding housing infrastructure growth bonds from determinations of the counties' funded debt.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Stadium Authority, three members of the Honolulu City Council, two members of the Hawaii County Council, two members of the Maui County Council, a member of the Kauai County Council, Avalon Group, D.R. Horton Hawaii, Hawaii Association of REALTORS, Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, Hawaii State Association of Counties, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, and Pacific Resource Partnership.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii continues to face a serious housing shortage, and infrastructure remains one of the most significant barriers to housing production. Roads, water and sewer systems, drainage, and public amenities must be in place before homes can be built. Your Committee also finds that measures have been introduced to address this issue by proposing amendments to the Hawaii State Constitution to authorize counties to issue housing infrastructure growth bonds and to exclude those bonds from determinations of the counties' funded debt. Your Committee finds that this measure conforms existing statutes in the event that the proposed constitutional amendments are ratified.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3218, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3218, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair