STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3040

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3219

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3219 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLE VII, SECTIONS 12 AND 13, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to propose constitutional amendments to expressly provide that the Legislature may authorize political subdivisions, such as the counties, to issue housing infrastructure growth bonds, and exclude these bonds from determinations of the funded debt of the political subdivisions for specified public works, public improvements, or other actions necessary for new housing development.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Hawaii Community Development Authority, one member of the Maui County Council, Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS, D.R. Horton Hawaii, NAIOP Hawaii, Navian Hawaii, Move Oahu Forward, and Housing Hawaiʻi's Future.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committees find that the State's severe housing shortage cannot be addressed without significant investment in infrastructure, including water, wastewater, drainage, roads, and sea-level rise mitigation. This infrastructure investment is especially vital to housing construction in transit-oriented development areas and other priority growth zones. However, current funding mechanisms are fragmented and insufficient to meet the scale and timing of the State's housing development needs. This measure's proposed amendments to the Hawaii State Constitution will authorize an innovative financing mechanism to catalyze county-level infrastructure growth, while also keeping current tax rates low and preserving each county's ability to fund other essential services. The resulting infrastructure improvements will facilitate increased housing development across the State.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3219 and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair