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HB1727 • 2026

RELATING TO THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.

RELATING TO THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.

Budget Housing
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
EVSLIN, AMATO, BELATTI, ILAGAN, KEOHOKAPU-LEE LOY, KILA, KUSCH, LEE, M., MARTEN, MIYAKE, MORIKAWA, REYES ODA, SHIMIZU, SOUZA, TARNAS, WOODSON
Last action
2026-03-30
Official status
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's effective date is July 1, 2050, which affects when some provisions will take effect.

Rental Housing Revolving Fund Act

This bill allows the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to provide financing for rental housing projects, gives preference to certain affordable housing projects, and authorizes transfers between fund subaccounts.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows the Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RHRF) to give loans or other financial help for building new rental homes or fixing old ones.
  • Gives priority to projects that promise long-term affordability for low-income families.
  • Permits transferring money between different parts of the RHRF without needing more laws.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) manages the RHRF and decides how to use its money.
  • People or companies that apply for loans from the RHRF will be affected by these rules.

Terms To Know

Rental Housing Revolving Fund
A fund used to provide financial help for building and maintaining rental housing in Hawaii.
Mixed-Income Subaccount
A part of the RHRF that focuses on supporting projects with a mix of affordable and market-rate units.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how much money will be available for each type of project.
  • It is unclear what happens if there are no funds left in the subaccounts to transfer.
  • Some parts of the bill only take effect after July 1, 2050.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment allows the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to transfer money within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund without needing further approval from the legislature, specifies conditions for mixed-income rental projects, and authorizes funding transfers into a subaccount.

  • The corporation can now move funds between different parts of the Rental Housing Revolving Fund with approval from the director of finance, without needing additional legislative permission.
  • Defines criteria for mixed-income rental housing projects that receive loans from the fund, prioritizing those with affordability commitments.
  • Authorizes the transfer and appropriation of up to $100 million into a specific subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund for fiscal year 2026-2027.
  • The exact amount appropriated from general revenues is not specified in the amendment text.
  • Some parts of the amendment are technical and may require further explanation or context to fully understand their implications.
SD1

3

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: This amendment adds a new definition for 'mixed-income rental project' and establishes a mixed-income subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund.

  • Adds a new definition for 'mixed-income rental project', which is a housing development providing units for households at various income levels, primarily those earning up to 140% of the area median income.
  • Establishes a mixed-income subaccount within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to provide financing options like loans and equity investments specifically for mixed-income rental projects.
  • The amendment does not specify how funds will be allocated or managed in detail, leaving some aspects open to interpretation by the corporation's rules.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-30 S

    Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

  2. 2026-03-30 S

    Reported from HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3206) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

  3. 2026-03-17 S

    The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Elefante, Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

  4. 2026-03-12 S

    The committee(s) on HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 1:05PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

  5. 2026-03-10 S

    Referred to HOU, WAM.

  6. 2026-03-06 S

    Passed First Reading.

  7. 2026-03-06 S

    Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 43).

  8. 2026-03-05 H

    Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

  9. 2026-03-05 H

    Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 861-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.

  10. 2026-03-02 H

    The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.

  11. 2026-02-27 H

    Bill scheduled for decision making on Monday, 03-02-26 10:00AM in conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  12. 2026-02-27 H

    The committee(s) on FIN recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 03-02-26.

  13. 2026-02-24 H

    Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 02-27-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  14. 2026-02-19 H

    Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).

  15. 2026-02-19 H

    Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 574-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

  16. 2026-02-11 H

    The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Cochran, Grandinetti, Kila, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

  17. 2026-02-06 H

    Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG on Wednesday, 02-11-26 9:00AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  18. 2026-01-26 H

    Referred to HSG, FIN, referral sheet 1

  19. 2026-01-21 H

    Introduced and Pass First Reading.

  20. 2026-01-20 H

    Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.
HHFDC; Department of Budget and Finance; RHRF; Mixed-Income Subaccount; Reserved Funds; Appropriations ($)
Authorizes the Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RURF) to be used to provide any and all forms of financing for the development, pre-development, construction, acquisition, preservation, and substantial rehabilitation of rental housing units. Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) to give preference to certain projects with perpetual affordability commitments and to applicants with a demonstrated history of early repayment to the RHRF. Authorizes HHFDC, with the approval of the Director of Finance, to transfer moneys between the RHRF and its subaccounts without further legislative authorization. Requires certain RHRF loans applied for or awarded after 12/31/2026 to be subject to review and renegotiation when any mortgage debt to which the loan is subordinate is refinanced or retired. Authorizes HHFDC to use reserved but unencumbered funds for short‑term projects with certain conditions. Authorizes HHFDC to secure lines of credit, standby bond purchase agreements, or other credit enhancement facilities to provide liquidity for the RHRF in certain circumstances. Authorizes the Director of Finance to transfer moneys from the RHRF to its Mixed-Income Subaccount for FY 2026‑2027. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB1727

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1727

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to the rental housing revolving fund
.

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

����
SECTION
1.
�
Chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III, subpart J, to be
appropriately designated and to read as follows:

����
"
�201H-
�
Transfer of moneys; subaccounts.
�
Notwithstanding any law to the
contrary, the corporation, with the approval of the director of finance, may
transfer moneys between the rental housing revolving fund and any subaccount
established under this chapter, and between subaccounts established under this chapter,
without further legislative authorization, for purposes consistent with this
chapter.
�
The corporation may also return
unexpended or uncommitted funds from any subaccount established under this chapter
to the rental housing revolving fund, to be used for any lawful purpose of the
fund.
"

����
SECTION 2.
�
Section 201H-202, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:

����
"(e)
�
Except as provided in subsection (f), moneys
available in the fund shall be used for the purpose of providing, in whole or
in part, loans for rental housing projects demonstrating project readiness,
efficiency, and feasibility acceptable to the corporation in the following
order of priority:

����
(1)
�
Projects
or units in projects that are allocated low-income housing credits pursuant to
the state housing credit ceiling under section 42(h) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended, or projects or units in projects that are funded by
programs of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and
United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development wherein:

���������
(A)
�
At least fifty per
cent of the available units are for persons and families with incomes at or
below eighty per cent of the
area
median [
family
] income of which
at least five per cent of the available units are for persons and families with
incomes at or below thirty per cent of the
area
median [
family
]
income; and

���������
(B)
�
The remaining
units are for persons and families with incomes at or below one hundred per
cent of the
area
median [
family
] income;

���������
provided that the corporation
may establish rules to ensure full occupancy of fund projects; provided further
that f
or projects that were
awarded low-income housing credits pursuant to this paragraph, priority shall
be given to p
rojects with a perpetual affordability commitment.
�
For purposes of this paragraph,
"perpetual" means the useful life of the project; and

����
(2)
�

Mixed-income rental projects or units in a mixed-income rental
project for [
persons and families
]
households at a range of income
levels, but primarily for households
with incomes at or below one hundred forty
per cent of the
area
median [
family
] income."

����
SECTION
3.
�
Act 159, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025,
is amended by amending section 8 to read as follows:

����
"SECTION
8.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its
approval[
; provided that sections 2 and 3 of this Act shall be repealed on
June 30, 2030, and sections 201H-202 and 201H-204, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
shall be reenacted in the form in which they read on the day prior to the
effective date of this Act
]."

����
SECTION
4.
�
The director of finance is authorized
to transfer moneys from the rental housing revolving fund to the mixed-income
subaccount of the rental housing revolving fund in an amount not to exceed
$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027.

����
SECTION
5.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $100,000,000 or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 to be deposited into the
mixed-income subaccount of the rental housing revolving fund established under
section 201H-202(f), Hawaii Revised Statutes.

����
SECTION
6.
�
There is appropriated out of the
mixed-income subaccount of the rental housing revolving fund established under
section 201H-202(f), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the sum of $100,000,000 or so
much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the purposes of
the subaccount.

����
The sums
appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii housing finance and development
corporation 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, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

HHFDC;
Rental Housing Revolving Fund; Mixed-Income Subaccount; Transfer of Moneys; Mixed-Income
Rental Projects; Appropriation

Description:

Specifies
the conditions upon which the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development
Corporation may transfer moneys from within the Rental Housing Revolving Fund to
a subaccount and between subaccounts of the fund.
�
Clarifies what constitutes a mixed-income
rental project for purposes of loans funded through the Mixed-Income Subaccount.
�
Repeals the sunset date for the Mixed-Income
Subaccount.
�
Authorizes the Director of
Finance to deposit rental housing revolving funds into the Mixed-Income
Subaccount.
�
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.