House committee backs $62 million housing package to expand Kauhale supportive sites
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Summary
Lawmakers in a House committee hearing advanced HB 431 with technical amendments to fund Kauhale projects and deepen permanent supportive housing, including a $50 million request for Kauhale development and $12 million to HHFDC; supporters said the package is aimed at halving homelessness by 2026.
Chair Lisa Martin recommended passage of House Bill 431 with technical amendments after a day of testimony from state agencies, service providers and advocacy groups.
Supporters told the committee the bill would add inventory of permanent supportive housing targeted at people experiencing homelessness. John Mizuno of the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions said the measure would direct $50,000,000 per year for Kauhale projects and an additional $12,000,000 to the Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation. "This bill is unprecedented in funding $50,000,000 for our Kauhale projects along with another $12,000,000 to HHFDC…The total of $62,000,000 targeted at housing inventory for people in need has never been done before," Mizuno said.
Advocates described the Kauhale approach as permanent supportive housing that couples deeply affordable units with on-site services. Betty Lou Larsen of Catholic Charities Hawaii described the model as necessary to serve elderly or frail people and those with serious behavioral health needs: "For the chronically homeless to be successful, you know, you have to have those ongoing services, and that's what this bill provides." Liam Chin of the Reimagining Public Safety in Hawaii coalition testified the funding could reduce jail populations by housing people who are currently incarcerated and homeless, citing intake data and cost comparisons.
The Statewide Office reported 18 Kauhale projects in inventory as of the hearing, representing 835 beds, with a stated goal of at least 30 Kauhale by November 2026 and at least three on each neighbor island. Mizuno also reiterated the administration's target to cut chronic homelessness by half by the end of 2026, a reduction he estimated would involve about 2,200 people.
Committee action: Chair Lisa Martin moved the committee recommendation to pass HB 431 with amendments that (a) replace a proposed Kauhale initiative special fund with an appropriation directly to the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions (program ID HMS777), (b) remove language creating multi‑biennial lapse protections, and (c) make technical style and date changes. The committee adopted the chair's recommendation.
The committee record shows supporters from the Department of Human Services, the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Catholic Charities Hawaii, the Department of Budget and Finance, ACL Hawaii, and multiple nonprofits and individuals. The committee also received written and oral testimony urging the bill's passage and asking for program oversight, competitive procurement and reporting on outcomes.
The measure passed the committee with amendments; the committee's roll calls listed Chair Lisa Martin and Vice Chair Ikaika Oles voting aye, along with Representatives Amato, Chun, Leroy, Takayama and Representative Henry J.C. Garcia (vote recorded as "Aye"); Representative Alcos was recorded as excused.
What happens next: The committee sent HB 431 forward with the technical amendments on the record; the bill's appropriation lines were left blank for the fiscal committees to set final amounts.
