STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2318

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2053

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2053 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require a county to approve, approve with modification, or disapprove an application for a permit for a housing development project that uses moneys from the rental housing revolving fund within thirty days.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from one member of the Maui County Council; National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, Hawaii Chapter; and Building Industry Association of Hawaii. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu, Young Progressives Demanding Action, Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, Pono Hawaii Initiative, and one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, one member of the Maui County Council, and Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.

Your Committees find that there is an insufficient amount of affordable housing available in the State, leading to several residents leaving Hawaii in search of more affordable living situations. Your Committees further find that one of the largest obstacles to the development of affordable housing is the permitting delays for developers to begin their affordable housing projects. Streamlining the development of affordable housing by instituting an automatic approval under certain circumstances will expedite the construction and development of affordable housing for residents of the State.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that a county shall approve, approve with modification, or disapprove an application for discretionary permits, rather than all permits, for certain development, pre-development, construction, or substantial rehabilitation projects;

(2) Changing the amount of time a county is required to approve, approve with modification, or disapprove an application from thirty days to forty-five days;

(3) Deleting language that would have exempted certain development, pre-development, construction, or substantial rehabilitation from environmental impact statement requirements; and

(4) Making conforming amendments.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2053, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2053, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Housing,

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair

________________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair