STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1121

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 283

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 283, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A GENERAL EXCISE TAX EXEMPTION FOR MIXED-USE HOUSING PROJECTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish an exemption from general excise taxes for the development of mixed-use projects incorporating affordable housing units on state or county lands near an existing or proposed mass transit station.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation, Tax Foundation of Hawaii, and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that plans for growth outside the urban core and development of corresponding amenities generally increase nearby land and housing values.  Market forces have historically failed to generate affordable housing in these areas, making it incumbent upon the government to intervene where market forces fail to create the desired solution.  Location-efficient housing on state or county land requires that affordable housing units consist of high-density vertical housing within mixed-use environments to ensure that the greatest number of potential tenants and purchasers can avail themselves of its conveniences and cost savings.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 283, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 283, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Housing,

________________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair