STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3715
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.C.R. No. 232
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2022
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Water and Land and Housing, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 232 entitled:
"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TO CONVENE A MULTI-AGENCY WORKING GROUP TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PLANNING, COORDINATING, AND IMPLEMENTING THE OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES FOR HOUSING IN THE HAWAII STATE PLANNING ACT,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to convene a multi-agency working group to make recommendations for planning, coordinating, and implementing the objectives and policies for housing in the Hawaii State Planning Act.
Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Hawaii Public Housing Authority, and Office of Information Practices.
Your Committees find that the Hawaii State Plan's objectives and policies for housing as outlined in section 226-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides that planning for housing shall be directed toward providing greater opportunities for Hawaii's people to secure reasonably priced, safe, sanitary, and livable homes located in suitable environments that accommodate the needs of families and individuals through collaboration and cooperation between government, nonprofit, and for-profit developers to ensure the availability of more rental and for-sale affordable housing. As Hawaii's population has grown and evolve, the Hawaii State Plan, as it relates to affordable housing, was amended by Act 82, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, to meet the housing needs of a broad range of income levels. Currently, the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Hawaii Community Development Authority, and Hawaii Public Housing Authority collaborate to coordinate the provision of housing to the extent allowed by constrained resources of urban-designated land, capital, subsidies, incentives, and market demands. However, as Hawaii's affordable housing crisis grows, further collaboration by necessary state agencies is needed to provide housing for Hawaii's people.
Your Committees note that while the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development supports the multi-agency working group, the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development currently lacks the necessary funding to fill one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) position needed to support the effort to plan, assess, and develop recommendations for attaining the housing objectives and policies in the Hawaii State Planning Act.
Your Committees have
amended this measure by:
(1) Deleting the exemption from chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for the working group; and
(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 232, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 232, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water and Land and Housing,
________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair |
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________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair |
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