House Committee on Housing passes SCR 60 SD1 with HHFDC amendments asking for housing production plan

The House Committee on Housing voted to pass SCR 60 SD1, adopting amendments proposed by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) that ask the agency to develop a plan to produce sufficient housing to meet statewide demand.

HHFDC staffer Dean Minakami told the committee that the written comments submitted with the resolution did not accurately reflect the agency's understanding of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) eligibility. "LIHTC housing is for households at 60% AMI and below. It's not just for households earning 50 to 60% AMI," Minakami said, and cited a 2019 Hawaii housing planning study that showed a shortage of 19,328 units for households at 60% AMI and below. He added that a recent statewide assessment shows the need has grown to about 33,000 units for that income band.

In response to questions from Representative Moro, Minakami said rental units financed under LIHTC and similar programs can remain affordable at the 60% AMI level because program rents are capped and affordability periods commonly extend 60 years or more. He cautioned, however, that permanently affordable ownership housing is harder to guarantee because homeowners face variable costs such as maintenance fees and insurance that can push units out of affordability.

The committee adopted HHFDC's recommended changes to the resolution. Amendments recorded in committee action deleted the resolution's fifth whereas clause that described HHFDC as "overbuilding in a very narrow market" and replaced a numeric figure in the draft (changing "1,789 rental units" to "19,328" for households at 60% AMI and under). The committee also removed a requirement that HHFDC identify specific sites and instead amended the directive to require density and timing for projects identified by an "affordable housing land inventory task force" referenced in Senate Bill 26.

Members voted to pass the measure with the chair and vice chair voting aye and Representatives Grandinetti, Quila and Moraoka recorded as voting aye; three members (Representatives Cochran, Kitagawa and LaChica) were recorded as excused. The committee adopted the measure with amendments and the chair confirmed passage.

The resolution asks HHFDC to prepare a plan that clarifies how identified sites, densities and project timing could contribute to meeting unmet demand; HHFDC staff said a realistic, implementable plan would take longer than eight months and suggested a two-year horizon to produce actionable site and development recommendations.

The committee took no further action at the meeting on next steps or deadlines for HHFDC beyond the amended directives in SCR 60 SD1.