STAND. COM. REP. NO. 536

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1303

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Housing and Water, Land, & Ocean Resources, to which was referred H.B. No. 1303 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to address Hawaii's critical affordable housing and homelessness problem by, among other things:

(1) Providing flexibility to the counties to allow for the development of low-income housing rentals;

(2) Waiving estate taxes for the purchase of property by a nonprofit organization for the development of low-income housing rentals;

(3) Exempting certain low income housing units from general excise taxes;

(4) Expanding the number of individuals and families that can qualify for loans or grants for housing projects;

(5) Establishing a sliding scale for the payment of conveyance taxes;

(6) Increasing the amount of conveyance taxes transferred into the Rental Housing Trust Fund (RHTF) from 25 to 50 percent;

(7) Establishing provisions for the development and rehabilitation of decommissioned low-income public housing;

(8) Requiring provider agencies to submit annual reports containing various statistical information regarding services to the homeless;

(9) Exempting lower cost housing projects from certain statutes, ordinances, and rules, upon meeting certain conditions;

(10) Separating the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH) into two entities:

(a) The Hawaii Public Housing Administration to perform the function of developing and maintaining public housing; and

(b) The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Administration to perform the function of housing financing and development;

(11) Repealing the RHTF Advisory Commission;

(12) Establishing a Legislative Affordable Rental Housing and Homeless Task Force; and

(13) Appropriating funds to various housing and homeless-related programs

The Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation testified in support of this measure. HCDCH, City and County of Honolulu Department of Community Services, Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, Institute for Human Services, Inc., Partners in Care, and Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii supported the intent of this bill. The Department of Taxation opposed this measure. The Hawaii Association of Realtors, Catholic Charities Hawaii, and several concerned citizens provided comments.

 

Your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Establishing a general excise tax exemption in place of the waiver of estate taxes for nonprofit organizations for the development of low-income rental housing;

(2) Inserting the provisions for decommissioned housing into section 201G-44, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), relating to the administration of state low-income housing projects, in place of section 201G-132, HRS, relating to nonprofit organizations;

(3) Extending from 49 to 99 years, the maximum lease period to nonprofit organizations or government agencies that develop decommissioned low-income public housing projects;

(4) Amending the audit requirement to provide more flexibility;

(5) Establishing the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Administration as a new chapter in HRS and changing the existing HCDCH into the Hawaii Public Housing Administration; and

(6) Making other technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, conformity, and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Water, Land, & Ocean Resources that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1303, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1303, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Water, Land, & Ocean Resources,

 

____________________________

EZRA R. KANOHO, Chair

____________________________

MICHAEL P. KAHIKINA, Chair