STAND. COM. REP. NO. 471

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 759

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Housing and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 759 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII HOUSING FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Add the Chairperson of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, or the Chairperson's designee, to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) Board of Directors; and

(2) Amend quorum requirements for the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation Board of Directors.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Hoomana Pono, LLC.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.

Your Committees find that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has a constitutional mandate, through the Hawaiian Homes Commission, to the approximately twenty-nine thousand native Hawaiians on the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands waiting list. As one of the largest housing developers in the State, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands holds a unique perspective in the development and construction of housing to achieve the fiduciary duty of the Hawaiian Homes Commission. Therefore, this measure offers an additional perspective to the HHFDC Board of Directors that also supports the three different classes of beneficiaries to the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 759 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Hawaiian Affairs,

________________________________ HERBERT RICHARDS, Chair

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair