HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1117

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to the general excise tax.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Section 201H-36, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  In accordance with section 237-29, the corporation may approve and certify for exemption from general excise taxes any qualified person or firm involved with a newly constructed, or moderately or substantially rehabilitated project:

     (1)  Developed under this part;

     (2)  Developed under a government assistance program approved by the corporation, including but not limited to the United States Department of Agriculture 502 program and Federal Housing Administration 235 program; provided that this paragraph shall not apply to projects developed on federal lands;

     (3)  Developed under the sponsorship of a private nonprofit organization providing home rehabilitation or new homes for qualified families in need of decent, low-cost housing; or

     (4)  Developed by a qualified person or firm to provide affordable rental housing where at least fifty per cent of the available units are for households with incomes at or below eighty per cent of the area median family income as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, of which at least twenty per cent of the available units are for households with incomes at or below sixty per cent of the area median family income as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development."

     SECTION 2.  Section 201H-202, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (c) and (d) as follows:

     "(c)  The following may be deposited into the fund: appropriations made by the legislature, general excise tax revenues pursuant to section 237-31, private contributions, repayment of loans, interest, other returns, and moneys from other sources.

     (d)  The fund shall be used to provide loans or grants for the development, pre-development, construction, acquisition, preservation, and substantial rehabilitation of rental housing units[.]; provided that general excise tax revenues deposited into the fund shall be used solely for the purpose of developing affordable rental housing for homeless families with children.  Permitted uses of the fund may include but are not limited to planning, design, land acquisition, costs of options, agreements of sale, downpayments, equity financing, capacity building of nonprofit housing developers, or other housing development services or activities as provided in rules adopted by the corporation pursuant to chapter 91.  The rules may provide for a means of recapturing loans or grants made from the fund if a rental housing project financed under the fund is refinanced or sold at a later date.  The rules may also provide that moneys from the fund shall be leveraged with other financial resources to the extent possible."

     SECTION 3.  Section 237-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§237-31  Remittances.  All remittances of taxes imposed by this chapter shall be made by money, bank draft, check, cashier's check, money order, or certificate of deposit to the office of the department of taxation to which the return was transmitted.  The department shall issue its receipts therefor to the taxpayer and shall pay the moneys into the state treasury as a state realization, to be kept and accounted for as provided by law; provided that:

     (1)  The sum from all general excise tax revenues realized by the State that represents the difference between $45,000,000 and the proceeds from the sale of any general obligation bonds authorized for that fiscal year for the purposes of the state educational facilities improvement special fund shall be deposited in the state treasury in each fiscal year to the credit of the state educational facilities improvement special fund;

     (2)  A sum, not to exceed $5,000,000, from all general excise tax revenues realized by the State shall be deposited in the state treasury in each fiscal year to the credit of the compound interest bond reserve fund; [and]

     (3)  A sum from all general excise tax revenues realized by the State that is equal to one-half of the total amount of funds appropriated or transferred out of the hurricane reserve trust fund under sections 4 and 5 of Act 62, Session Laws of Hawaii 2011, shall be deposited into the hurricane reserve trust fund in fiscal year 2013-2014 and in fiscal year 2014-2015; provided that the deposit required in each fiscal year shall be made by October 1 of that fiscal year[.]; and

     (4)  All general excise tax revenues realized by the State as a result of section 1 of Act     , Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, shall be deposited in the state treasury in each fiscal year to the credit of the rental housing trust fund."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2013.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

General Excise Tax; Exemption for Housing Projects Built on Federal Lands; Repeal; Rental Housing Trust Fund

 

Description:

Repeals the general excise tax exemption for housing projects built on federal lands.  Provides that tax revenues gained from repealing this exemption shall be deposited into the rental housing trust fund for the purpose of building affordable rental housing for homeless families with children.

 

 

 

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