Joint House committees advance SB1669 to create Community Improvement Special Fund, require 20% EV‑ready parking

The House committees on Housing and Transportation voted Tuesday, March 11, to advance SB1669 SD2 with amendments that (1) rename the proposed Community Improvement Revolving Fund as the Community Improvement Special Fund, (2) incorporate Attorney General language on grant standards, (3) broaden board staffing options to include licensed architects, and (4) require that 20% of parking stalls be EV‑ready.

The move came during a joint public hearing and decision-making session in Conference Room 830. Deputy Attorney General Megan Oka told the committee the Attorney General's Office supports the bill with the amendments it recommended in written testimony and was available to answer questions. Angela Melody Young, testifying on behalf of Cares, urged the committees to coordinate the bill's provisions with county land‑use plans and permitting offices, saying, "get every player invested in the process to communicate the plan."

The committees adopted technical and substantive changes recommended in testimony. Committee members agreed to rename the fund to the Community Improvement Special Fund and to clarify whether the fund will be established in the State Treasury. The chair said the bill will add AG‑recommended language on grant standards and will require the partnership created by the bill to coordinate with relevant state permitting and regulatory agencies and programs. The amendments also expand the board composition to allow a licensed architect to satisfy the urban‑planning position and permit a licensed architect to qualify for the full‑time planner slot.

Other changes approved by the panels included a new unit requiring that 20% of parking stalls be EV‑ready (replacing a prior cross‑reference) and a series of drafting adjustments for clarity, consistency and style. The committee report will note an estimated initial cost of $150,000 to fund the program described in section 3 and $400,000 to fund four positions in section 4; committee members instructed staff to record those figures for budget consideration.

On the recommendation to pass SB1669 SD2 with an HD1 incorporating the amendments, the House Housing committee recorded the chair and vice chair as voting aye; Representative Grandinetti, Representative Kila and Representative Kitagawa also registered aye votes; Representative Cochran, Representative LaChica and Representative Perrick were excused. The House Transportation committee likewise voted to pass the bill with amendments; the chair and vice chair voted aye and the committee chair announced the recommendation was adopted.

The bill will move forward with the adopted HD1 language for further processing; committee members said technical drafting edits will be made before the measure proceeds.