STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2253

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2833

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2833 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to increase funding for affordable rental housing development by making state low-income housing tax credits more valuable by accelerating the period during which tax credits may be claimed from ten to five years.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Coordinator on Homelessness under the Office of the Governor; Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; Department of Human Services; Hawaii Habitat for Humanity; Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS; Catholic Charities Hawai‘i; and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that the development of low-income affordable housing is necessary to address the issue of homelessness and respond to the critical shortage of housing inventory in the community.  Increasing the investment attractiveness of the state low-income housing tax credits would generate more equity to finance the development of affordable rental housing projects.

     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 Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2833, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2833, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

________________________________

BREENE HARIMOTO, Chair