Bill Text: HI SR193 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The Federal Emergency Management Agency To Utilize Funds For Non-congregate Housing For Infrastructure And Development Needs For Affordable Rental Housing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-31 - Certified copies of resolution sent, 05-31-24 [SR193 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SR193-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	193
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the federal emergency management agency to utilize funds for non-congregate housing for infrastructure and development needs for affordable rental housing.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the devastating August 2023 Maui wildfires have left thousands of residents displaced from their homes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the housing crisis on Maui had already been creating housing instability and shortages for Maui families; and

 

     WHEREAS, those who were displaced from their homes by the August 2023 Maui wildfires include an estimated one thousand six hundred renters; and

 

     WHEREAS, the majority of those displaced have expressed a desire to live in an area geographically close to their residences prior to the wildfires; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) housing relief aid that is currently providing temporary rental assistance to eligible displaced residents is scheduled to expire in 2025; and

 

     WHEREAS, the repopulation of the areas affected by the August 2023 Maui wildfires for development of permanent affordable housing to replace those that were destroyed is estimated to take many years; and

 

     WHEREAS, displaced renters and homeowners will need interim housing solutions beyond subsidizing rentals in a tight Maui rental supply market while housing is being developed or rebuilt; and

 

     WHEREAS, meeting the needs for additional interim housing solutions is critical to ensure flexibility in keeping together the community of Lahaina, and other communities affected by the August 2023 Maui wildfires, when FEMA's rental assistance expires in 2025; and

 

     WHEREAS, constructed emergency housing relief beyond rental assistance or direct leasing is imperative to keep the rental market stable as federal and state assistance evolves over the coming months; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that FEMA is urged to utilize funds for non-congregate housing for infrastructure and development needs for affordable rental housing; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that FEMA is urged to provide the State with clear parameters on the allowable uses of federal financial assistance; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that FEMA is urged to provide a decision tree for federal support actions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that FEMA is urged to remain open to discussing disposition of transfer of assets acquired through its public assistance expenditures to the State at the end of its initial housing response mission; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that FEMA is urged to clarify the long-term commitment for continued Maui wildfire disaster related support including housing for displaced residents; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Regional Administrator of Region 9 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Governor; and Mayor of the County of Maui.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

Report Title: 

FEMA; Maui Wildfire Residents; Displaced Renters and Homeowners; Rental and Housing Instability; Interim Housing.