STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1000

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 944

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 944, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the low-income housing tax credit.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Authorizes a partner or member in a partnership or limited liability company that has been allocated a low-income housing tax credit to further allocate the credit or transfer, sell, or assign up to one hundred percent of the tax credit, under certain conditions; and

(2) Extends the repeal date for certain provisions of the low-income housing tax credit for low-income buildings.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, American Council of Life Insurers, The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Maui Chamber of Commerce, NAIOP Hawaii Chapter, and Sugar Creek Capital.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program is one of the most important resources for creating affordable housing in the United States today. Your Committee further finds that this measure is intended to increase the flexibility of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program and make it easier for developers to secure funding, broaden investor participation, and accelerate the construction of affordable housing.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a repeal date of July 1, 2030, for the amendments made to section 235-110.8(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 1 of the measure; and

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 944, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 944, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair