HB1008 HD1

SECTION 1. Chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§6E- Determination as to effect of proposed state affordable housing projects; historic review requirements. (a) Notwithstanding section 6E-8, before any agency or officer of the State or its political subdivisions commences any affordable housing project that may affect a historic property, an aviation artifact, or a burial site, the agency or officer shall advise the department and allow the department to make a determination for the proposed project as to the effect of the project on the historic property, aviation artifact, or burial site; provided that soil type, geographical location, and previous identification efforts are taken into consideration. The project shall not be commenced, or if it has already begun, continued, until the department has made its determination.

(b) If the department determines that the proposed project is located in a:

(1) Highly sensitive area known to include a high density of historic, cultural, or archaeological resources, or in an area that is likely to contain a high density of historic, cultural, or archaeological resources, the department shall require an archaeological inventory survey in accordance with rules adopted by the department unless an archaeological inventory survey has already been previously reviewed and accepted by the department for the same or a substantially similar project located in the same project area, in which case the department may allow the project to proceed under an archaeological monitoring program in accordance with rules adopted by the department;

(2) Moderately sensitive area where an archaeological inventory survey has already been previously reviewed and accepted by the department in which no significant historic properties have been previously identified, the department may allow the project to proceed under an archaeological monitoring program in accordance with rules adopted by the department; and

(3) Nominally sensitive area known to include a low density of historic, cultural, or archaeological resources, or where the project area has been substantially disturbed by previous excavation or other ground disturbing work and no significant historic properties have been previously identified, the department may allow the project to proceed without further review under this section.

(c) The department shall provide its written determination under subsection (a) within ninety days after the filing of a complete and accurate project request with the department. The department's determinations may be appealed to the Hawaii historic places review board.

(d) The agency or officer of the State or its political subdivisions shall obtain state inventory of historic places numbers for all historic properties identified within the affordable housing project area during the archaeological inventory survey, if an archaeological inventory survey is conduct, before the start of construction, and for all historic properties identified within the affordable housing project area during archaeological monitoring before completion of construction.

(e) Before any agency or officer of the State or its political subdivisions commences any affordable housing project that may adversely affect a significant historic property, the agency or officer shall make a reasonable and good faith effort to avoid or minimize any effect to significant historic properties. If an adverse effect cannot reasonably be avoided, the agency or officer shall mitigate the adverse effect. Mitigation may take different forms, including but not limited to preservation, archaeological data recovery, burial treatment, ethnographic documentation, historic data recovery, and architectural recordation. The terms under which mitigation will be implemented shall be approved by the department before the agency or officer commences the affordable housing project.

(f) If human remains are identified during archaeological monitoring or affordable housing project construction, all work within a twenty foot radius of the finding and within a twenty-foot radius of the back-dirt pile containing the soil removed during excavation in proximity of the remains shall be stopped and both areas shall be securely covered and protected from the natural elements and adjacent activities; provided that work in other areas of the project may continue and may only proceed in accordance with section 6E‑43.6.

(g) If historic property is identified during archaeological monitoring or affordable housing project construction, all work within a twenty-foot radius of the finding shall be stopped and the agency or officer shall contact the Hawaii state historic preservation division.

(h) The department of Hawaiian home lands, before any proposed project relating to lands under its jurisdiction commences, shall consult with the department regarding the effect of the project upon historic property or a burial site.

(i) The department shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 to implement this section.

(j) For the purposes of this section, an "affordable housing project" or "project" means a housing project in which greater than fifty per cent of the units are affordable to households with incomes at or below one hundred forty per cent of the area median income amounts published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development applicable to the location of the project."

SECTION 2. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1008
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII