Appropriates funds for homeless and transitional housing programs. Appropriates funds to repair vacant public housing units. Adjusts allocation of conveyance tax revenues. Allows state-owned parcels to be leased for the development of self-help housing. (HB2176 HD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Act 196, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2005, was passed by the legislature to address Hawaii's affordable housing and homeless crisis. Act 196, SLH 2005, provided a number of mechanisms and incentives to increase the supply of low-income rental housing. In addition, the legislature recognized that more meaningful solutions to Hawaii's housing and homeless crisis were needed, and established a joint legislative housing and homeless task force to further identify near-term solutions to Hawaii's affordable housing and homeless problem.

The task force spent many hours researching and meeting with state and county officials, private developers, and nonprofit organizations on Oahu, the Big Island, Kauai, and Maui and also held public hearings and briefings in each county. The task force relied on the information collected in developing its recommendations.

The purpose of this Act is to implement many of the recommendations of the task force.

SECTION 2. Section 201G-231, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§201G-231[]] Rent supplements. (a) The administration is authorized to make, and contract to make, annual payments to a "housing owner" on behalf of a "qualified tenant", as those terms are defined in this subpart, in such amounts and under such circumstances as are prescribed [in or pursuant to this subpart. No payment on behalf of a qualified tenant shall exceed a segregated amount of $160 a month.] in rules adopted by the administration.

(b) The administration is authorized to use state rent supplement program funds for project-based operating subsidies for state low-income housing units that are transferred by the administration to private organizations for the purpose of managing and operating the units; provided that fifty per cent of the units are rented to persons or families whose income does not exceed fifty per cent of the median family income as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; provided further that the remainder of the units are rented to persons or families whose income does not exceed eighty per cent of the median family income as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development."

SECTION 3. Section 201G-232, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§201G-232 Housing owner defined. As used in this subpart, the term "housing owner" means:

SECTION 4. Section 201G-233, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§201G-233 Qualified tenant defined. As used in this subpart, the term "qualified tenant" means any single person or family, pursuant to criteria and procedures established by the administration, that has been determined to have an income not exceeding the very low income limit as determined by the administration pursuant to rules adopted by the administration; provided that the qualified tenant's primary place of residence shall be in the State of Hawaii or that the qualified tenant intends to make the State of Hawaii the qualified tenant's primary place of residence. The terms "qualified tenant" and "tenant" include a member of a cooperative who satisfies the foregoing requirements and who, upon resale of the member's membership to the cooperative, will not be reimbursed for more than fifty per cent of any equity increment accumulated through payments under this subpart. With respect to members of a cooperative, the terms "rental" and "rental charges" mean the charges under the occupancy agreements between the members and the cooperative. [The term "qualified tenant" shall not include any person receiving money payments for public assistance from the department of human services; provided that the term "public assistance" shall exclude aid provided through the federal Supplemental Security Income Program.]"

SECTION 5. Section 247-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§247-7 Disposition of taxes. [All] Of the taxes collected each fiscal year under this chapter [shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the general fund of the State, to be used and expended for the purposes for which the general fund was created and exists by law; provided that of the taxes collected each fiscal year]:

SECTION 6. Act 196, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, is amended by adding a new section to the chapter established in section 20 of the Act to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§    -    Leases; self-help housing. (a) The administration may lease parcels it deems suitable for affordable housing at $1 per year for up to fifty years to organizations or community trusts that will develop the parcel with ownership units through self-help development.

(c) Parcels leased under this section may be transferred or sublet; provided that the sale or sublease meets affordability restrictions established by the administration."

SECTION 7. No later than September 1, 2006, the Hawaii housing finance and development administration shall identify public lands under the control of any state agency that are suitable for affordable residential development. No later than December 1, 2006, the department of land and natural resources and any other state agency having control of any of the lands identified by the Hawaii housing finance and development administration shall initiate the transfer of the land to the Hawaii housing finance and development administration.

SECTION 8. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $20,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 for grant-in-aids for homeless services and transitional housing programs; provided that any moneys remaining from the appropriation that have not been distributed as a grant-in-aid by June 30, 2007, are appropriated to the Hawaii public housing administration for homeless programs.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii public housing administration for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 9. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $10,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 to repair and modernize vacant units in federal and state public housing projects.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii public housing administration for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 10. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $400,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 for interim construction loans for up to ten homes to be developed as self-help ownership homes by private organizations or community trusts on land leased from the State and administered in accordance with subpart B of part III of chapter 201G, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 11. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 12. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006; provided that on June 30, 2011, section 5 shall be repealed and section 247-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the day before the approval of this Act.