STAND. COM. REP. NO. 390

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2023

RE: H.B. No. 15

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 15, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY LIENS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the State and counties to:

(1) Place liens on real properties for unpaid civil fines resulting from violations of land use laws; and

(2) Subject to adoption of appropriate and particular laws or rules establishing the power of sale, sell properties after all notices, orders, and appeal proceedings, if any, are exhausted and use those revenues to pay unpaid civil fines related to the property.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, one member of the Honolulu City Council, and Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committee finds that authorizing the counties to collect on liens filed on properties through a non-judicial foreclosure process provides some leverage over property owners to comply or lose their property. If a property owner fails to comply and the property is foreclosed upon, this measure would enable the property to be put to productive use, allow liens attached to the property to be satisfied, and stop the accrual of additional debt or taxes on the property. This measure addresses the need of the counties to bring closure to pending civil fines imposed on property owners who are in violation of land use laws, ordinances, or rules.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 15, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 15, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair