STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2329

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2593

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Education and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2593 entitled:

 

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

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to require the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to conduct periodic reviews of housing projects certified for a general excise tax exemption to determine whether the housing projects have met eligibility criteria required by law and rule.

 

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by one private organization and one individual.  Testimony in opposition of this measure was submitted by one state agency.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     Your Committee has been informed that about 700 applications for general excise tax exemptions are reviewed annually by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation and then filed.  Your Committee is not certain how many affordable housing units are granted this exemption and if indeed the State is receiving all of the general excise tax revenues owed to the State from the properties in question.  It is also unclear how many millions of dollars the State has excepted and how many millions of dollars may be collected with proper oversight.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on this measure.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2593, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2593, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair