STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1040-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   S.B. No. 2542

      S.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 2542, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DISPOSITION OF THE CONVEYANCE TAX COLLECTIONS TO THE RENTAL HOUSING TRUST FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to restore funding of the Rental Housing Trust Fund to its pre-recession level by restoring the allocation of 50 percent of Conveyance Tax revenues to the Trust Fund.

The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Partners in Care, Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, and PHOCUSED submitted testimony in support of this measure.  The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and Building Industry Association of Hawaii submitted testimony in opposition to this measure.  The Department of Land and Natural Resources and Tax Foundation of Hawaii submitted comments.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2542, S.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

____________________________

CINDY EVANS, Chair