SB2969

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2969
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to affordable housing.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature recognizes that Hawaii is experiencing a severe affordable housing crisis with a lack of affordable rental and for-sale units. According to the 2018 affordable rental housing report and ten-year plan, Hawaii will need an additional 64,693 housing units by 2025 with nearly seventy per cent of those units for low-income households earning eighty per cent or less of the area median income.

In 2016, the legislature established the goal of developing 22,500 affordable rental units by the end of 2026. Achieving this goal will require a variety of approaches.

The purpose of this Act is to temporarily exempt affordable housing projects by the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation from all state fees related to discretionary approval or ministerial permits.

SECTION 2. Section 201H-38, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§201H-38 Housing development; exemption from statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules. (a) The corporation may develop on behalf of the State or with an eligible developer, or may assist under a government assistance program in the development of, housing projects that shall be exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any government agency relating to planning, zoning, construction standards for subdivisions, development and improvement of land, and the construction of dwelling units thereon; provided that:

(1) The corporation finds the housing project is consistent with the purpose and intent of this chapter, and meets minimum requirements of health and safety;

(2) The development of the proposed housing project does not contravene any safety standards, tariffs, or rates and fees approved by the public utilities commission for public utilities or of the various boards of water supply authorized under chapter 54;

(3) The legislative body of the county in which the housing project is to be situated shall have approved the project with or without modifications:

(A) The legislative body shall approve, approve with modification, or disapprove the project by resolution within forty-five days after the corporation has submitted the preliminary plans and specifications for the project to the legislative body. If on the forty-sixth day a project is not disapproved, it shall be deemed approved by the legislative body;

(B) No action shall be prosecuted or maintained against any county, its officials, or employees on account of actions taken by them in reviewing, approving, modifying, or disapproving the plans and specifications; and

(C) The final plans and specifications for the project shall be deemed approved by the legislative body if the final plans and specifications do not substantially deviate from the preliminary plans and specifications. The final plans and specifications for the project shall constitute the zoning, building, construction, and subdivision standards for that project. For purposes of sections 501-85 and 502-17, the executive director of the corporation or the responsible county official may certify maps and plans of lands connected with the project as having complied with applicable laws and ordinances relating to consolidation and subdivision of lands, and the maps and plans shall be accepted for registration or recordation by the land court and registrar; and

(4) The land use commission shall approve, approve with modification, or disapprove a boundary change within forty-five days after the corporation has submitted a petition to the commission as provided in section 205‑4. If, on the forty-sixth day, the petition is not disapproved, it shall be deemed approved by the commission.

(b) Affordable housing projects shall be exempt from all state fees related to discretionary approval or ministerial permitting.

[~~(b)~~] (c) For the purposes of this section, "government assistance program" means a housing program qualified by the corporation and administered or operated by the corporation or the United States or any of their political subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, corporate or otherwise."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that on January 1, 2032, this Act shall be repealed and section 201H-38, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the day before the effective date of this Act.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________