THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3247
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that in 2019, approximately 28,500 native Hawaiian adults were on the department of Hawaiian home lands application waitlist for residential, farming, or ranching homesteads. The homelessness crisis in Hawaii is already serious, ranking third in the country among states with the most homeless people per ten thousand residents in 2020. The waitlist backlog exacerbates this crisis that already disproportionately affects native Hawaiians.

The legislature finds that even at the end of 2021, the number of native Hawaiians on the waitlist has not significantly decreased despite plans to develop more Hawaiian home lands lots. To date, more than two thousand native Hawaiian beneficiaries have died while on the waitlist. Furthermore, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, those on the waitlist who are not homeless are struggling to pay rent to the extent where a federal government stimulus package offered relief specifically for native Hawaiians on the waitlist for homestead leases. The department of Hawaiian home lands must ameliorate this situation.

The legislature also finds that according to the department of Hawaiian home lands 2020 Beneficiaries Study Applicant Report, seventy-six per cent of department of Hawaiian home lands applicants on the waitlist would prefer a lot with a single-family home or vacant lot for a house, while sixteen per cent would like a rental single-family home, duplex, apartment, or townhouse, with the option to buy.

The purpose of this Act is to require the department of Hawaiian home lands to address the housing requirements of those applicants on the department's waitlist by developing a strategic plan to address those applicants with a preference for single-family home or vacant lots and those applicants with a preference for rental housing, including apartment units and rent-with-option-to-buy housing units.

SECTION 2. (a) The department of Hawaiian home lands shall develop a strategic plan to meet the following applicant preferences:

(1) Seventy-six per cent of individuals on the department of Hawaiian home lands waitlist who prefer a lot with a single-family home or a vacant lot for a house; and

(2) Sixteen per cent of individuals on the department of Hawaiian home lands waitlist who prefer to rent or rent-to-own a single-family home, duplex, apartment, or townhouse, with the option to buy in the future.

(b) The strategic plan shall be divided by county and include recommended waitlist policies detailing when homeowner-applicants receive mortgage or down payment assistance from the department and renter-applicants opt to live in rental housing developed by the department.

(c) The department of Hawaiian home lands shall submit the strategic plan, including findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than December 10, 2022.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

Report Title:

DHHL; Housing Waitlist; Strategic Plan; Housing Preferences; Beneficiaries

Description:

Requires DHHL to develop a strategic plan to meet certain housing preferences of individuals on the DHHL applicant waitlist. Requires DHHL to submit the strategic plan to the legislature no later than 12/10/2022. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.