STAND. COM. REP. NO. 504

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 338

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Housing and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 338 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Create the Department of Housing; and

(2) Transfer the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA), Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, and Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) under the Department of Housing for administrative purposes.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, Hawai‘i YIMBY, and one individual. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Hawaii Community Development Authority, and Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

Your Committees find that increasing the supply of housing on state-owned lands is statewide priority. However, your Committees further find that expertise with housing matters is currently spread across various state departments and agencies, which causes inconsistencies and redundancies in the State's plan to effectively accommodate the housing needs of Hawaii's people. Your Committees believe that centralizing the State's housing agencies within a single department would decrease inconsistencies and redundancies and ensure that the State's various housing initiatives are better coordinated.

Your Committees note that because this measure would administratively attach HPHA to the new Department of Housing rather than the Department of Human Services, the HPHA Board of Directors would still be responsible for the policy and direction of HPHA; therefore, no further amendments are necessary to ensure HPHA's continued compliance with federal requirements regarding the Annual Contributions Contact.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Replacing the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism as a member of HCDA with the Director of Housing;

(2) Inserting language that would provide for the salary of the Director of Housing; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 338, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 338, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Government Operations,

________________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair