CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 46

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2011

RE:    S.B. No. 903

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 903, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to preserve affordable rental housing units.  Specifically, this measure:

(1)  Establishes an Affordable Rental Housing Development Program that authorizes private organizations to acquire expiring federal housing subsidy contracts; and

(2)  Requires nonprofit organizations that acquire expiring federal housing subsidy contracts to preserve affordable housing units in perpetuity.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that the federal government helps support the production and availability of low-income rental housing by providing subsidies to private owners of multifamily housing, but that numerous federal rental subsidy contracts are set to expire in the near future.  The cost of living in Hawaii has been and continues to be high, and public-private partnerships provide an effective way to preserve affordable rental housing.  However, participation in the Affordable Rental Housing Development Program will be severely limited if private organizations are required to maintain affordable housing units in perpetuity.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that the purpose of the measure and the Affordable Rental Housing Development Program is only to preserve affordable rental housing, without requiring that the preservation be maintained in perpetuity and deleting language requiring that any public housing project that is managed with state or county funds or acquired by a nonprofit organization remain affordable housing in perpetuity;

     (2)  Clarifying that the number of affordable housing units in publicly funded public housing projects shall increase or remain the same, regardless of redevelopment or reconstruction for certain purposes;

     (3)  Inserting language preventing the impairment of the State's ability to receive federal funds;

     (4)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2011; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 903, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 903, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ PONO CHONG, Co-Chair	____________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair
____________________________ JO JORDAN, Co-Chair	____________________________ MICHELLE KIDANI, Co-Chair