Bill Text: HI HB1631 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended

---

Bill Title: Relating To Housing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2024-03-07 - Referred to EDU/HOU, WAM. [HB1631 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-HB1631-Amended.html

---

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1631
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO HOUSING.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii continues to suffer from a shortage of licensed teachers, with over one thousand vacancies each year.  Having affordable options available for teacher housing can be one key strategy for the recruitment and retention of teachers in the State, particularly given that Hawaii's teacher salaries continue to trail the nation, when adjusted for cost of living.  Housing costs constitute a big portion of each teacher's paycheck.  A focus on teacher retention, especially those serving in hard-to-fill areas, would help reduce the high turnover rate of teachers in Hawaii.  To recruit and retain effective educators, policymakers must find ways to lessen the financial burden of being a public school teacher.  The experience of the University of Hawaii, through its university housing program that provides available housing resources and assistance to new full-time employees, has shown that providing housing to the education workforce can be an effective initial bridge in recruiting and retaining essential employees.

     The legislature further finds that affordable housing for educators must go hand in hand with affordable transportation.  Studies done for Hawaii, such as Ulupono Initiative's report published in 2021, The Costs of the Vehicle Economy in Hawai‘i, have shown that personal vehicles cost an additional $8,100 per vehicle per year and $16,200 per household per year.  The state climate change mitigation and adaptation commission, in its 2023 report Investing in Transportation Choices: Recommendations for Safe, Sustainable, Affordable, and Reliable Mobility, has emphasized providing options for transportation to address the disproportionate burden that lower income households bear.  Incorporating transit-oriented development, complete streets, vision zero, and related strategies will also address safety, accessibility, and the State's decarbonization goals.

     The legislature also finds that as housing stock increases, it is imperative to address transportation equity and lessen the proportion of income spent on transportation, particularly for lower income families.  Such coordination should be done by incorporating active transportation plans that consider bicycle, pedestrian, and other forms of transit, and other related strategies.  The legislature believes that the school facilities authority should work with the relevant state and county departments and agencies to achieve transportation equity as the authority endeavors to provide housing for teachers and department of education staff.

     The legislature additionally finds that Act 307, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, was enacted to convey to the department of education fee simple title to those lands used by the department for public schools and offices held, at that time, by the counties of Maui and Kauai, the State, and the department of land and natural resources.  Development of these lands is crucial for the construction of facilities that will support not only public schools on those lands, but can also provide educator workforce housing.

     The legislature notes that Act 172, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023 (Act 172), was enacted to provide the school facilities authority with the powers necessary to develop housing on or off campus and to appropriate funds for the construction of housing prioritized for teachers, educators, and staff.  Specifically, Act 172 authorized the school facilities authority to:

     (1)  Partner with public and private agencies to develop housing on or off campus for teachers, educators, and staff and develop classrooms;

     (2)  Request any state or county agency to render services to the authority; and

     (3)  Contract to manage the leasing and property management of housing projects or transfer the property to another public agency.

While the establishment of the school facilities authority and the additional powers granted to it pursuant to Act 172 have been beneficial, providing additional clarity in state law will help the authority achieve its mandate of producing affordable housing for the educator workforce in an expeditious and effective manner.  Establishing a mandate for a plan to achieve the goals set forth in Act 172, complete with a timeline and set of specific metrics as indicators of progress as determined jointly by the school facilities authority and department of education, will enable the authority to carry out its mandates more efficiently.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Require the school facilities authority to work with the department of education to prioritize projects for the construction of educator workforce housing that will house teachers and other staff of the department;

     (2)  Require the school facilities authority to include in its annual report to the legislature the actions the authority will take within the next year, three years, and five years toward increasing educator workforce housing; and

     (3)  Require the department of education to collaborate with the department of land and natural resources, Maui county, Kauai county, and other appropriate state departments and agencies to submit a preliminary report to the governor, board of education, and legislature on the status of lands designated to be transferred to the department of education pursuant to Act 307, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022.

     SECTION 2.  Section 302A-1703, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§302A-1703  Powers; generally.  (a)  Except as otherwise limited by this chapter, the authority shall be responsible for all public school development, planning, and construction related to capital improvement projects assigned by the legislature, governor, or board of education.

     (b)  The authority shall comply with chapter 103D.

     (c)  Except as otherwise limited by this chapter, the authority may also:

     (1)  Have a seal and alter the same at its pleasure;

     (2)  Subject to subsection (b), make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions under this subpart;

     (3)  Make and alter bylaws for its organization and internal management;

     (4)  Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 with respect to its projects, operations, properties, and facilities, including qualifications for persons and entities wishing to enter into a public-private partnership with the authority, as permitted in paragraph (7);

     (5)  Acquire or contract to acquire by grant or purchase real, personal, or mixed property or any interest therein; to clear, improve, and rehabilitate and to sell, assign, exchange, transfer, convey, lease, subdivide, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the same;

     (6)  Acquire property by condemnation pursuant to chapter 101;

     (7)  Enter into partnerships with qualified persons, including public-private partnerships, as defined in the authority's rules, to acquire, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, improve, alter, or provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, or alteration of any project, including prekindergarten facilities; and sell, assign, transfer, convey, exchange, lease, or otherwise dispose of or encumber any project; and in the case of the sale of any project, accept a purchase money mortgage in connection therewith;

     (8)  Grant options to purchase any project or to renew any lease entered into by it in connection with any of its projects, on terms and conditions as it deems advisable;

     (9)  Prepare or cause to be prepared plans, specifications, designs, and estimates of costs for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, or alteration of any project, and from time to time to modify the plans, specifications, designs, or estimates;

    (10)  Procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets and operations in amounts and from insurers as it deems desirable;

    (11)  Apply for and accept gifts or grants in any form from any public agency or from any other source, including gifts or grants from private individuals and private entities;

    (12)  Borrow money or procure loan guarantees from the federal government for or in aid of any project the authority is authorized to undertake pursuant to this chapter.  Additionally, in connection with borrowing or procurement of loan guarantees, the authority:

          (A)  Shall comply with conditions required by the federal government pursuant to applicable regulation or required in any contract for federal assistance;

          (B)  Shall repay indebtedness incurred pursuant to this section, including any interest thereon;

          (C)  May execute loan and security agreements and related contracts with the federal government;

          (D)  May issue bonds pledging revenues, assessments, or other taxes as security for indebtedness incurred pursuant to this section; and

          (E)  May enter into financing agreements as that term is defined in section 37D-1;

    (13)  Appoint or retain by contract one or more attorneys who are independent of the attorney general to provide legal services solely in cases of negotiations in which the attorney general lacks the sufficient expertise; provided that the independent attorney shall consult and work in conjunction with the designated deputy attorney general;

    (14)  Use the department of human resources development to recruit, hire, and retain exempt employees, architects, engineers, existing civil service positions, and other technical positions for the development, planning, and construction related to capital improvement projects;

    (15)  Partner with public and private development agencies to develop:

          (A)  Housing on or off campus; and

          (B)  Classrooms;

    (16)  Request any state or county agency to render services to the authority;

    (17)  Transfer the property to another public agency or contract to manage the leasing and property management of housing projects; and

    (18)  Do any and all things necessary to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given and granted in this subpart.

     (d)  Prior to project approval, the authority shall consult with the Hawaii state public library system regarding any construction or renovation projects for school lands that are adjacent to or have Hawaii state public library facilities on them.

     (e)  With regard to the development of employee housing, the authority shall work with the department to prioritize identified projects for the construction of educator workforce housing for teachers and other staff of the department."

     SECTION 3.  Section 302A-1707, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§302A-1707  Annual report.  (a)  At least twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, the authority shall submit to the governor, board of education, and legislature, a complete and detailed report of its activities during the prior fiscal year.

     (b)  The annual report shall include the actions to be taken by the authority within the next year, three years, and five years toward increasing educator workforce housing, including developing affordable transportation options for individuals living in the housing, and benchmarks and metrics, to be determined by the authority and department, to evaluate the effectiveness of those actions."

     SECTION 4.  (a)  The department of education shall submit a preliminary report to the legislature on the status of lands designated to be conveyed to the department pursuant to Act 307, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2025.

     (b)  The preliminary report shall include recommendations on how to prioritize any transfers of lands to the department of education that have not yet occurred in accordance with Act 307, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, prior to the submission of the report.

     (c)  The department of education shall collaborate with the department of land and natural resources, Maui county, Kauai county, and any other state department or agency necessary to produce the preliminary report.

     SECTION 5.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

 

 

Report Title:

Department of Education; School Facilities Authority; Educator Workforce Housing; Prioritization; Reporting

 

Description:

Requires the School Facilities Authority to work with the Department of Education to prioritize projects for the construction of educator workforce housing that will house teachers and other staff of the Department.  Requires the School Facilities Authority to include in its annual report to the Legislature its planned actions toward increasing educator workforce housing.  Requires the Department of Education to collaborate with certain state and county agencies to submit a preliminary report to the Legislature on the status of lands designated to be transferred to the Department of Education.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD1)

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.