Bill Text: HI SB2442 | 2014 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 2442 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Affordable Housing; Rental Housing Trust Fund; Appropriation ($)

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-04-23 - Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-25-14 12:30PM in conference room 229. [SB2442 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-SB2442-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2442
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's isolated location, more than two thousand miles away from the nearest continent, means that the State faces unique challenges related to affordable housing. The lack of available land, low wage positions coupled with the high cost of living, high cost of construction, and shortage of public funds are only some of the factors that have contributed to one of the lowest rates of home ownership in the country and a strong need for affordable rental housing.

The legislature further finds that renters in Hawaii face many challenges. A 2011 Center for Housing Policy report noted that Honolulu was tied as being the least affordable city for renters nationwide. Honolulu was also ranked the third most expensive city for rentals. The need for affordable housing in Hawaii also affects moderate-income families. Individuals falling into this gap group of average wage earners face challenges, as they earn too much to qualify for low-income housing programs, yet earn too little to afford market rate housing.

The legislature also finds that according to the 2011 Hawaii Housing Planning Study, as many as fifty thousand new housing units may need to be built between 2012 and 2016 to meet new demand generated by changing demographic and economic conditions. Units that are not built represent the shortage of units needed to fill the total demand for housing units. This shortage, known as needed units, is the difference between total housing demand and expected supply. The projected number of needed units in the State through 2016 includes more than six thousand ownership units and thirteen thousand rental units for households with less than eighty per cent of the area median income. During this same five-year period, about two thousand six hundred affordable for-sale units and more than two thousand one hundred rental units will be needed to meet the housing requirements of households earning between eighty per cent and one hundred forty per cent of the area median income. These households fall within the gap group of wage earners.

The legislature additionally finds that rising housing costs are also associated with increased homelessness and families at risk of becoming homeless. According to the 2012 Homeless Service Utilization Report developed by the Center on the Family at the University of Hawaii and the homeless programs office of the department of human services, a total of 13,980 individuals statewide experienced homelessness and received shelter or outreach services during the 2012 fiscal year. This figure includes those individuals who are at risk of losing their housing.

The legislature finds that Hawaii has an immediate need for affordable housing. Addressing this need will be a challenge due to the sheer number of units needed to meet demand and the various barriers that can prevent development and preservation of affordable housing. Therefore, the public sector, the private sector, and other interested stakeholders in the community must work together to ensure that Hawaii's residents have access to affordable housing.

The legislature recognizes that to ensure the continued development of affordable housing, appropriations to the rental housing trust fund must be made each year through fiscal year 2017-2018.

The purpose of this Act is to support Hawaii's goal of meeting the projected number of affordable housing units needed in the State by appropriating funds to the rental housing trust fund.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year to be deposited into the rental housing trust fund for the purpose of building affordable rental housing projects, including projects with micro units, family units, and elder housing units; provided that:

(1) The housing projects or units shall be leased to persons and families within a range of family incomes that do not exceed one hundred per cent of the area median income, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the county or standard metropolitan statistical area in which the projects are located; and

(2) At least forty per cent of the units within the housing projects shall be reserved for persons and families within a range of family incomes that do not exceed sixty per cent of the area median income, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the county or standard metropolitan statistical area in which the projects are located.

For purposes of this appropriation, "micro unit" means a dwelling unit with a total floor area of not less than two hundred twenty square feet and not more than three hundred twenty square feet for not more than two occupants and containing a separate closet, kitchen sink, cooking appliance, refrigeration facilities, and separate bathroom containing a toilet and a bathtub or shower. The minimum and maximum total floor area shall increase an additional one hundred square feet for each occupant in excess of two.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

Report Title:

Affordable Housing; Rental Housing Trust Fund; Appropriation

Description:

Appropriates funds for the Rental Housing Trust Fund to build affordable rental housing projects, including projects with micro units, family units, and elder housing units. (SB2442 HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.