Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1844 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to increase the income for the rental housing trust fund.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the City and County of Honolulu Department of Community Services, the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, Hawaii Association of Realtors, the Nature Conservancy, and Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation. The Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii and Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii submitted testimony in opposition to this measure. The Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii also submitted comments.

Measures promoting the increase of rental housing projects are seriously needed in Hawaii's tight rental market because as the number of available units decrease, rental prices increase. Your Committee finds that the rental housing trust fund was created to provide loans or grants for the development of rental housing units. However, in order for this fund to be successful, money must be available for projects.

This measure provides an increase in revenue to better equip the rental housing trust fund. Specifically, this measure:

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive stylistic changes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1844, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1844, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.