STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2351

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2006

RE: S.B. No. 3002

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water, Land, and Agriculture and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 3002 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to implement the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Housing and Homeless Task Force with regard to identifying available land for affordable housing.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Office of Planning. Comments were submitted by the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB).

Your Committees find that the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Third Legislature of the State of Hawaii established the Joint Legislative Housing and Homeless Task Force to further identify near-term solutions to Hawaii's affordable housing and homeless problem. The task force issued its report with its findings and recommendations in January 2006. This measure implements some of the task force's specific recommendations by:

(1) Requesting a study to identify available land for affordable housing; and

(2) Requesting the preparation of a plan for retaining subsidized affordable units eligible for conversion to market-priced housing.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting the provisions that requests the Office of Planning to identify available land for affordable housing;

(2) Clarifying that LRB will prepare a "study" rather than a "plan";

(3) Clarifying that the LRB study will be limited to state affordable housing projects;

(4) Providing that the Housing Community Development Corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) will provide LRB with specific affordable housing information by May 31, 2006;

(5) Providing that HCDCH, the Public Housing Administration, and DHS will assist LRB with preparing the cost estimate for retaining the affordable housing projects;

(6) Deleting the appropriation to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism for the study to identify available lands; and

(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity and formatting.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, and Agriculture and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3002, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3002, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water, Land, and Agriculture and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing,

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RON MENOR, Chair

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RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair