Hawaii HB 2070: RELATING TO HOUSING.

Bill Text

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES h I
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 IN
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO HOUSING.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
1 SECTION 1. Section 201H-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
2 amended to read as follows:
3 “[-f-]~2O1H-31[+] Criteria. (a) In administering this
4 chapter and other laws of the State applicable to the supplying
5 of housing or the assistance in obtaining housing, the
6 corporation shall give preference to those applicants most in
7 need of assistance in obtaining housing, in light of the amount
8 of moneys available for the various programs. In doing so, the
9 corporation shall take into consideration the applicant’s
10 household income and number of dependents; the age of the
11 applicant; the physical disabilities of the applicant or those
12 living with the applicant; whether or not the present housing of
13 the applicant is below standard; whether or not the applicant’s
14 need for housing has arisen by reason of displacement of the
15 applicant by governmental actions; the proximity between the
16 housing location and the applicant’s place of employment;
17 whether the applicant is a state or county employee; whether the
HB LRB 26-0344.docx

H.B. NO. z~~o
1 applicant is a returning resident who left the State to attend a
2 university, college, or trade school and has graduated within
3 the past two years; and other factors as it may deem pertinent.
4 The corporation may allow households with incomes up to
5 twenty per cent higher than the income on which the maximum
6 sales price was based to qualify to purchase a unit.
7 (b) For any project developed or administered by the
8 corporation under this chapter, the corporation, when feasible,
9 shall set aside as a matter of preference no less than per
10 cent of the available units for state or county employees.
11 Cc) In implementing this section, the corporation shall:
12 (1) Determine the order of preferences pursuant to
13 subsection (a) and rank each applicant accordingly;
14 (2) Select applicants based on application date within the
15 pool of similarly ranked applicants; and
16 (3) Validate the preference status of an applicant before
17 occupancy of an affordable unit.
18 Cd) The corporation may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91
19 to establish additional eligibility criteria.’
20 SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed
21 and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
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Page 3 H .B. NO. ac-ia
1 SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
2 INTRODUCED BY:
By Request
JAN 232026
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H.B. NO. 2Db
Report Title:
Hawaii State Association of Counties Package; HHFDC; Housing;
State Employees; County Employees; Eligibility Criteria
Description:
Adds new preferences for state and county employees to the
eligibility criteria for housing development programs
administered by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development
Corporation. Clarifies the CorporationTs authority to adopt
rules and determine the order of applicant preferences.
The summary description oflegislation appearing on this page is forinformational purposes only and is
not legislation orevidence oflegislative intent.
HB LRB 26-0344.docx