Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Impact Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee advances bill to repeal school impact fees after extended debate with DOE
Summary
The Senate Committee on Housing passed HB 422 (HD1) with amendments after prolonged questioning of the Department of Education on how $21 million in unused school impact fee balances have been managed and whether the DOE can secure land for new schools. The DOE proposed exempting government housing projects from the construction‑cost component of the fee.
The Senate Committee on Housing advanced HB 422 (HD1) on March 18, 2025, a measure that would repeal school impact fees and transfer unencumbered balances of the school impact fee subaccounts and related fair‑share contribution accounts to the school facilities special fund.
The bill prompted extended testimony and questioning from senators about whether the Department of Education had used impact‑fee revenues to secure land or to build school infrastructure. Dean Uchida, deputy superintendent for the Department of Education, told the committee that the department would "suggest that we just exempt the government housing projects from the construction cost component of that fee bill," proposing a narrower exemption rather than removing construction‑cost funding entirely.
Why it matters: Committee members pressed the DOE on an auditor's findings showing long‑standing, underused impact‑fee balances that have grown to roughly $21 million. Senators said they are concerned about approaching statutory deadlines that could require returning unspent funds with interest and questioned whether the existing fee framework has helped produce school sites where fast‑growing communities need them.
What was argued: Senator Hashimoto asked whether the DOE had addressed prior auditor recommendations and how much land the department has obtained with impact fees; Uchida said the program was transferred to the School Facilities Authority in 2021 and that until then the fee was tightly restricted, limiting the department's ability to use funds for anything beyond new school construction. Senator Fevella stressed overcrowding in fast‑growing districts and urged tracking land and infrastructure needs: "I'm not for this bill because my community is growing fast ... but I want to make sure the land that we get from the developers... also provide the infrastructure," he said.
Outcome and next steps: The committee recommended passing HB 422 with amendments and a further defective date; the committee report will note concerns expressed by Senator Fevella about school sites in the Ewa area and the need for land plus infrastructure. The amendment package, as described in committee, preserves targeted exemptions and directs follow‑up reporting in the committee report. The measure advanced to the next stage of the legislative process.
What remains unresolved: The DOE committed to provide additional information requested by committee members (including data on land acquired and historical spending from impact‑fee accounts). Senators repeatedly asked for concrete documentation to justify continuing the fee in its current form; that material was not produced during the hearing and was flagged for follow up in the committee report.
Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the hearing transcript and include Dean Uchida, Senator Hashimoto and Senator Fevella. The committee also received written and oral testimony from the School Facilities Authority, Tax Foundation of Hawaii, HPHA and multiple advocacy groups.
