STAND. COM. REP. NO. 530

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1280

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1280 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds for construction of phase I of a senior living affordable housing project by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center, AlohaCare, Partners in Care, and Catholic Charities Hawaii. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance and Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.

Your Committee finds that the State has a housing crisis. The high cost of housing in particular affects senior citizens who often live on fixed incomes. This is particularly worrisome as the age group of those sixty-five years and older is growing at an annual rate of 3.6 percent while the total annual population growth for the entire State is just 0.5 percent. The State needs to take action to help elderly citizens with affordable housing. This measure will provide the funds necessary for an affordable senior living housing project.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Appropriating general obligation bond funds to the Rental Housing Revolving Fund for fiscal year 2022 only;

(2) Inserting required language for the lapse of general obligation bonds; and

(3) 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. 1280, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1280, 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,

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STANLEY CHANG, Chair