STAND. COM. REP. NO. 312

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1050

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Housing and Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 1050 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish a task force in the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation on the feasibility of the State establishing and operating a housing loan program for state employees similar to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs VA home loan program; and

(2) Appropriate funds for the study.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, ALF-CIO. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.

Your Committees find that there is a severe lack of affordable housing targeted for lower- and moderate-income residents, who bear the biggest brunt of the State's housing shortage due to the high cost of living and housing. Your Committees further find that there are numerous vacancies at state agencies, in large part due to the high cost of living and the State's inability to compete with the private sector. Your Committees find that there is a way to address these two dissimilar problems by adopting a loan program similar to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs VA home loan program, which provides loans or guarantees to cover the cost of a downpayment to eligible veterans. This measure would take the first step toward addressing the lack of affordable housing and the difficulty of the State attracting employees by establishing a task force to examine and report on the feasibility of creating a similar program to the VA home loan program.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Including a representative from the Hawaii Government Employees Association on the task force; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Labor, Culture and the Arts that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1050, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1050, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Labor, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair