STAND. COM. REP. NO. 926

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 863

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs and Education and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 863, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ESTABLISHING A COUNTY TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE REVOLVING FUND,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to create a county infrastructure development revolving loan fund, to provide no-interest loans to the counties for infrastructure improvement projects that support transit-oriented development.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting; the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Building Industry Association of Hawaii; The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Hawaii Developers' Council; the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii; Hawaii Pacific Engineers, Incorporated; and Hawaii Building & Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO.  Testimony in opposition was received from the Department of Budget and Finance.  Written testimony presented to your Committees may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     The county infrastructure development revolving loan fund will be used to provide no-interest loans to the counties for the development, pre-development, or construction of infrastructure projects to expedite the building of transit-oriented development, particularly projects involving affordable housing.  Permitted uses of the funds may include planning, design, land acquisition, costs of options, agreements of sale, or other infrastructure-related services or activities that may be provided in rules.

 

     The projects are expected to spur transit-oriented development all along the mass transit corridor.  To accommodate the expected future growth in these areas, upgrades and improvements to increase capacity to infrastructure in these areas will be necessary.  Making these upgrades and replacements will result in more compact, dense, and coordinated development along this transportation corridor with an added benefit of reducing urban sprawl.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2020.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs and Education and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 863, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 863, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs and Education and Housing,

 

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair

 

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair