Bill Text: HI SB1610 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Ohana Zones.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-27 - Referred to HHS/HOU, WAM. [SB1610 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2025-SB1610-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
1610 |
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THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING to ohana zones.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
The legislature further finds that the 2021 report on the ohana zones pilot program sought to broaden the program beyond temporary housing to promote affordable rental housing for persons transitioning out of homelessness, thus including projects with permanent and semi-permanent housing, such as the Kamaoku kauhale on Oahu for homeless single adults. The report noted a decrease of 43.7 per cent in the point in time counts from 2016 to 2020 for persons in homeless families, and an overall decrease in homelessness in Hawaii statewide.
The legislature further finds that although the ohana zones pilot program was extended to June 30, 2026, by Act 235, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, noting the success of the program to date, the legislature believes the program should be made permanent to ensure continued support to the homeless population of the State.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish the ohana zones program as a permanent program within the statewide office on homelessness and housing solutions.
SECTION 2. Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to subpart B of part XVIII to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
(b) The office shall determine the number and
locations of the ohana zones, which shall be situated on public or private lands
in accordance with subsection (c).
(c) The office may coordinate with public or
private entities, as appropriate, to develop and implement the ohana zones
program; provided that:
(1) If
any public land under the jurisdiction of a state or county agency is
determined to be suitable for use as an ohana zone, the office shall:
(A) Work
with the appropriate state or county agency that controls the land to transfer
the land designated for use as an ohana zone to an agency whose mission is more
suited to the management of ohana zones; and
(B) Work
with the appropriate state or county agency that controls the land and its
construction agency to ensure that an ohana zone's infrastructure needs are met
and minimize adverse impacts to the environment, including to nearshore
resources such as corals, reef fish, and seabirds;
(2) Use
of any private lands determined to be suitable for use as an ohana zone shall
be for limited purposes and require a written agreement between the private
land owner and any state or county department that any structure built with
public funds may be moved or is temporary; provided further that if the land
ceases to be used for an ohana zone or low-income housing before the time
specified in the agreement, the state or county agency may choose to move the
structure off the private land to a location of the state or county agency's
choosing; and
(3) The
ohana zones program may allow for off-the-grid technologies that can provide
drinking water, electricity, and process sewage without existing
infrastructure.
(d) The ohana zones program may provide the
following facilities and services at each ohana zone site:
(1) Secure
dwelling spaces that:
(A) May
be private or communal;
(B) Have
access to toilets, showers, and other hygiene facilities; and
(C) Have
access to an area for food storage and meal preparation;
(2) Medical
and social support services; and
(3) Transportation
to appointments related to medical care or supportive services that are not
available onsite;
provided that a person receiving
accommodations or services from an ohana zone site may request a ninety-day
extension of the person's receipt of accommodations or services, subject to
approval by the applicable ohana zone site and other eligibility criteria as
determined by each ohana zone site.
(e) Contracts entered into by the office shall be
exempt from the requirements of chapters 6E, excluding section 6E-43.6; 46, excluding sections 46-1.5(5)(D), 46-1.5(14)(A)(iii),
46‑88(c)(5), and 46-88(j); 103D; 103F; and 343; provided that no contract
entered into pursuant to the ohana zones program or structures constructed
thereunder shall be exempt from county, state, or federal floodplain management
development standards, or statutes, codes, ordinances, rules, or regulations
with which compliance is required under the National Flood Insurance Program.
(f) The office shall
establish the following:
(1) The criteria that the agencies will
use to evaluate potential ohana zone locations;
(2) A monthly timetable of milestones that the office
expects to meet in establishing ohana zones;
(3) The specific, measurable, attainable,
reasonable, and time-based performance measures that the office expects to meet
at the end of each fiscal year;
(4) The evaluation
criteria and process that the office intends to use each year when reviewing
the success and sustainability of the ohana zones;
and
(5) The monitoring
and oversight controls that the office will have over the ohana zones to
identify, address, and prevent possible fraud, waste, and abuse and ensure
compliance with local, state, and federal laws.
(g) The coordinator shall compile and consolidate
information from the office to
effectuate this section and submit a report to the legislature no later than
twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, which shall
include:
(1) A summary and explanation of the
process that the office engaged in to identify possible ohana zone locations;
(2) The milestones established pursuant
to subsection (f) that were met by the office and ohana zones established
during the immediately preceding fiscal year;
(3) An evaluation of the ohana zones to
determine whether the objectives set have been met or exceeded;
(4) Any proposed changes that need to be
made to the performance measures used to assess the achievement of program
goals;
(5) An assessment of the impact of the
ohana zone model on the homelessness problem in the State; and
(6) A summary
of the information required under subsection (f)."
SECTION 3. Section 201H-36, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
"(a) In accordance with section 237-29, the corporation may approve and certify for exemption from general excise taxes any qualified person or firm involved with a newly constructed, or a moderately or substantially rehabilitated, project that is:
(1) Developed under this part;
(2) Developed under a government assistance
program approved by the corporation, including but not limited to the United
States Department of Agriculture's section 502 direct loan program [and],
Federal Housing Administration's section 235 program[;], and the
ohana zones program established under section 346- ;
(3) Developed under the sponsorship of a private nonprofit organization providing home rehabilitation or new homes for qualified families in need of decent, low‑cost housing;
(4) Developed by a qualified person or firm to provide affordable rental housing where at least fifty per cent of the available units are for households with incomes at or below eighty per cent of the area median family income as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, of which at least twenty per cent of the available units are for households with incomes at or below sixty per cent of the area median family income as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; or
(5) Approved or certified from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2030, and developed under a contract described in section 104‑2(i)(2) by a qualified person or firm to provide affordable rental housing through new construction or substantial rehabilitation; provided that:
(A) The allowable general excise tax and
use tax costs shall apply to contracting only and shall not exceed $30,000,000
per year in the aggregate for all projects approved and certified by the
corporation; and
(B) All available units are for households with incomes at or below one hundred forty per cent of the area median family income as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, of which at least twenty per cent of the available units are for households with incomes at or below eighty per cent of the area median family income as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; provided that an owner shall not refuse to lease a unit solely because the applicant holds a voucher or certificate of eligibility under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended.
(b) To obtain certification for exemption under this section, rental housing projects shall, unless exempted by the corporation, enter into a regulatory agreement with the corporation to ensure the project's continued compliance with the applicable eligibility requirements set forth in subsection (a), as follows:
(1) For moderate rehabilitation projects, a minimum term of five years as specified in a regulatory agreement;
(2) For substantial rehabilitation projects[,]
and ohana zones projects under contracts entered into pursuant to section
346- , a minimum term of ten years as specified in a regulatory
agreement; or
(3) For new construction projects, a minimum term of thirty years from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy."
SECTION 4. Section 346-361, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:
""Ohana
zone" means a place:
(1) That has a program to address basic
needs of individuals experiencing homelessness; and
(2) Where wrap-around services, social and health care services, transportation, and other services may be offered with the goals of alleviating poverty and transitioning individuals experiencing homelessness into affordable housing."
SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the ohana zones program's transient temporary housing.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the development and management of kauhales or semi-permanent housing to transition persons out of homelessness.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025; provided that the amendments made to section 201H-36, Hawaii revised Statutes, by section 3 of this Act shall not be repealed when that section is reenacted on June 30, 2030, pursuant to section 4 of Act 39, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
SOHHS; Ohana Zones Program; Establishment; General Excise Tax; Exemption; Reports; Appropriations
Description:
Establishes the Ohana Zones Program as a permanent program within the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions. Exempts ohana zones projects from general excise taxes. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
