Decision-Making Hearing Scheduled For Housing Bill

State Capitol, file photo by Wendy Osher.

On Tuesday, the Committee on Housing, and Water and Land, will hold a decision-making hearing that will include discussion on a bill that is part of the 2020 joint legislative package to provide real economic benefits for Hawaiʻiʻs working-class families and individuals.

Senate Bill 3104 relates to land development. It authorizes the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) to lease real property for a period not to exceed 99 years for the development of certain projects that include affordable housing.

The bill also requires the HHFDC to submit a report to the legislature that identifies all state lands that may be developed for multi-unit dwellings.

The bill authorizes the issuance of $200 million in general obligation bonds, with the proceeds used for the establishment of infrastructure to support the development of housing on lands near the University of Hawaiʻi West Oahu campus.

Senate Bill 3104 authorizes the issuance of $75 million in general obligation bonds, with the proceeds used for affordable housing infrastructure in counties with a resident population of 500,000 or less. It authorizes a state or county department or agency to petition the appropriate county land use decision-making authority, rather than the Land Use Commission, for a change in the boundary of a district involving land areas between 15 acres and 25 acres where the majority of the development will be for affordable housing.

The bill authorizes the State Historic Preservation Division to delegate the responsibility of historic preservation project reviews to the impacted county. It establishes the Office of the Housing Ombudsman, and removes the existing statutory cap on the amount of conveyance tax revenues that are deposited into the rental housing revolving fund each fiscal year.

The hearing will be held at 1:15 p.m., in Conference Room 225 of the State Capitol.

The Committee on Housing is chaired by Sen. Stanley Chang, and Sen. Kaiali‘i Kahele is the chair of the Committee on Water and Land.