Gov. Josh Green signed 10 new housing-related bills into law on Wednesday to support kupuna, workforce housing, and low-income residents on Hawaii Island and throughout the state.
“Housing is our top priority for this administration,” Green said during the signing, adding the state is short roughly 50,000 housing units. “We have to attack this from every different direction, some of it is for kupuna housing, some of it is just for our young workforce that can’t afford to be here.”
One bill, which became Act 98, will expand the state’s current rent supplement program for those 62 and older who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.
“We’ve tried this before multiple times, and I’m glad this finally went through,” said Puna Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, who co-introduced the bill. “We find that those with fixed incomes really need extra rent supplement, especially with rising rents, to just be able to stay in their homes.”
The bill also offers counseling for obtaining or renting permanent housing and support for mental health services for qualifying elderly residents.
“Part of solving the homelessness crisis is not only housing those that are homeless, but preventing those who are about to become homeless,” San Buenaventura said. “Especially when we’re talking about seniors, who are far more vulnerable, we want them to be able to stay in the housing they’ve grown accustomed to.”
The bill allocates $1 million for the services for the 2023-24 fiscal year and will take effect July 1, ending on June 30, 2026.
Other bills are designed to address workforce housing and offer additional support to low-income residents.
Act 97 establishes a 99-year leasehold pilot program to develop low-cost homes on both state- and county-owned land.
The bill is expected to increase the total number of affordable residential units throughout Hawaii.
“The state, for the first time, will take direct responsibility for reversing the housing shortage by providing income-blind, revenue-neutral, 99-year leasehold homes for all of Hawaii’s people,” said Sen. Stanley Chang of Oahu, chair of the Senate Housing Committee. “It’s a proven model that has worked in Singapore and will finally enable every generation of local people to have a good life here in Hawaii.”
Act 96 allows banks to invest in entities developing low-income residential properties, encouraging more affordable residential housing projects by increasing investment limits.
There’s also Act 99, which repeals certain requirements for those applying for Hawaii Public Housing Authority’s federal and state low-income public housing units.
The law is intended to allow the HPHA to prioritize its housing inventory for families and individuals experiencing homelessness, victims of domestic violence, and others who have been displaced or are in need.
Green also signed into law Act 90, which will extend county affordable housing credits to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Act 93, which funds the affordable homeownership revolving fund; Act 94, which requires the Department of Human Services to establish a three-year pilot program to help homeless individuals reunite with family and relatives in their home state; and Act 95, which allocates $476,000 to establish a supportive housing pilot program in the Office of Homelessness and Housing Solutions.
Also signed into law were two bills designed to support the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.
Act 91 requires the HHFDC to open two application periods each year for the development of affordable housing, while Act 92 provides the group with up to $10 million for a five-year pilot program to help secure workforce housing for those in high-demand professions like health care, education, law enforcement and agriculture.
“These are creative bills. They are solutions that have been long coming, and we’re going to have to continue to make things a little easier,” Green said. “One out of four of our people struggle to afford housing (in Hawaii). That’s a lot of people.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
