STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1276

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 26

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 26, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish the Affordable Housing Land Inventory Task Force (Task Force) to update the Affordable Rental Housing Report and Ten-Year Plan maps, tier tables, and inventories of state lands suitable and available for affordable housing development.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; Land Use Commission; and Office of Housing and Community Development of the County of Hawai‘i. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Planning & Sustainable Development and Hawai‘i Community Development Authority.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii is facing a severe shortage of affordable housing, exacerbated by rising demand and limited land availability for new development. With the growing population and increasing housing costs, there is an urgent need to identify and utilize existing state-owned lands for affordable housing projects. This measure is intended to help assess suitable lands that would be viable development locations, which will be a useful tool for the development of new affordable housing inventory throughout the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Placing the Task Force in the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development rather than the Hawaii Community Development Authority and making associated conforming amendments;

(2) Removing certain members from the Task Force;

(3) Amending the responsibilities of the Task Force;

(4) Specifying that the study to assess the viability of housing development in certain areas is subject to legislative appropriation;

(5) Extending the due date for the report to the Legislature to be twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2027;

(6) Changing the dissolution date of the Task Force to January 1, 2027; and

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

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of $500,000 to fund staff positions and contractual services necessary for the work of the Task Force.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 26, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 26, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Water & Land.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

____________________________

LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair