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Senate committee backs $10.15 million for public-housing repairs to bring vacant units to federal standards
Summary
The Senate Committee on Housing voted to pass Senate Bill 65 with amendments to appropriate funds for rehabilitation of vacant public-housing units managed by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority; committee report cites 139 vacant units and an average repair cost of $73,000 per unit.
The Senate Committee on Housing voted to pass Senate Bill 65 with amendments to appropriate funding to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority for rehabilitation, remodeling, renovation and repair of public-housing units.
Chair Chang recommended the measure pass with amendments that reflect HPHA's estimate that 139 units are vacant and that the average cost to bring each unit up to federal health and safety standards is $73,000, yielding a total appropriation of about $10,147,000. "We'll note that the vacant units are located in all 4 counties and in 20 out of the 25 senate districts," the chair said during decision making.
The measure drew support from Catholic Charities Hawaii and ROAR Cares. Betty Lou Larsen of Catholic Charities Hawaii testified that the funding would "expedite opening up more available units in the public housing," saying the work is "low hanging fruit" that can be done quickly and can help seniors and people experiencing homelessness. Angela Melody Young of ROAR Cares said rehabilitation "helps stabilize housing units and the neighborhoods that they're in" and pointed to energy-efficiency and health benefits included in her written materials.
A representative of HPHA provided the agency's snapshot: "Currently, as a snapshot in time, we currently have 139 vacant units. The approximate cost to fix this would be about $73,000 per unit average. So it comes out to about $10,147,000." Committee members also confirmed that tenants in HPHA public housing would not be required to pay more than 30% of income in rent under current program rules.
During the decision session, the chair said the committee report will note the location spread across counties and districts and emphasize that renovating existing units is among the fastest ways to add housing for the lowest-income residents.
Action: The committee recommendation was to pass SB 65 with amendments; the chair cast an aye vote and the recommendation was adopted. The committee's report will include the HPHA vacancy and cost figures provided during testimony.
Going forward, the chair said the measure will include the appropriation figures in the committee report and continue through the legislative process.
