RELATING TO HOUSING.

HB2504

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2504

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to housing.

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

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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds that Hawaii continues
to face a severe shortage of affordable housing, with publicly supported and
deeply affordable housing disproportionately concentrated in certain
communities.
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While the office of the
governor maintains an affordable housing pipeline dashboard to track affordable
housing projects in the development pipeline, and the Hawaii housing finance
and development corporation maintains a beta version of a housing dashboard, the
current dashboards do not provide sufficient neighborhood-level data to assess
housing equity, poverty concentration, displacement risk, or the alignment of
infrastructure investment with housing development.

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The legislature further finds that
transparent, publicly accessible, and standardized data is essential to:

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(1)
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Promote equitable
distribution of affordable housing statewide;

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(2)
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Identify
communities experiencing high or increasing concentrations of poverty;

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(3)
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Prevent
displacement of existing residents;

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(4)
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Ensure that public
infrastructure and services keep pace with housing development; and

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(5)
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Support
evidence-based policymaking and public accountability.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act
is to expand the information and data currently collected by the existing affordable
housing dashboards by requiring the Hawaii housing finance and development
corporation
to develop and maintain a comprehensive housing
equity dashboard on the corporation's website that provides annual public
reporting on affordable housing production, affordability levels, poverty
concentration, displacement indicators, and infrastructure investment by
geography.

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SECTION 2.
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Chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

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�201H-
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Housing
equity dashboard; establishment; public access.
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(a)
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The corporation shall develop
and maintain on the corporation's website a housing equity dashboard, in
coordination with the office of the governor's housing team; department of
business, economic development, and tourism; Hawaii public housing authority; and
counties.

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(b)
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The
housing equity dashboard shall include at a minimum the following data
elements, disaggregated by county, community planning area, and neighborhood,
where practicable:

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(1)
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Affordable
housing production, including the:

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(A)
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Number
of affordable housing units that are planned, under construction, and completed;

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(B)
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Duration
of affordability restrictions;

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(C)
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Number
of rental units and homeownership units; and

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(D)
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Number
of public housing replacement units, if applicable;

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(2)
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Affordable
housing units categorized by area median income, including for:

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(A)
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Extremely
low-income households at or below thirty per cent of the area median income;

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(B)
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Very
low-income households at or below fifty per cent of the area median income; and

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(C)
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Low-income
households at or below eighty per cent of the area median income;

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(3)
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Poverty
concentration indicators that identify areas with high or increasing
concentrations of poverty, which may include:

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(A)
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Percentage
of households below two hundred per cent of the federal poverty level;

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(B)
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Percentage
of cost-burdened and severely cost-burdened households;

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(C)
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Concentration
of extremely low-income households;

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(D)
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Unemployment
or underemployment rates;

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(E)
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School
mobility rates; and

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(F)
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Other
socioeconomic indicators as determined by the corporation, in consultation with
relevant agencies;

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(4)
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Displacement
and housing stability indicators, including, to the extent data is available:

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(A)
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Residential
eviction filings;

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(B)
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Significant
rent increases;

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(C)
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Loss
of naturally occurring affordable housing; and

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(D)
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Other
indicators relevant to housing instability and displacement risk;

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(5)
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Public
infrastructure and service investment, including state and county capital
improvement projects related to:

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(A)
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Transportation;

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(B)
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Parks
and open space;

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(C)
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Educational
facilities;

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(D)
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Water,
sewer, and drainage infrastructure;

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(E)
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Public
safety and lighting; and

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(F)
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Infrastructure
investments associated with publicly supported housing developments.

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(c)
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The
housing equity dashboard shall:

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(1)
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Present the
data required pursuant to subsection (b) in a manner that is transparent,
user-friendly, and suitable for public review, policymaking, and planning
purposes; and

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(2)
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Be updated annually.

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(d)
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Data reported pursuant to this section shall
be used solely for planning, policy evaluation, and resource alignment
purposes.
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Personally identifiable
information shall not be included in the housing equity dashboard.

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(e)
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State and county departments and agencies
shall provide relevant data to the corporation for the purposes of implementing
the housing equity dashboard pursuant to this section, subject to applicable
privacy and confidentiality laws.

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(f)
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The corporation shall submit an annual report
to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each
regular session that summarizes:

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(1)
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Trends in
affordable housing production and geographic distribution;

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(2)
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Affordability
levels by area median income;

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(3)
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Communities
experiencing high or increasing concentrations of poverty;

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(4)
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Displacement
and housing stability trends;

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(5)
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Alignment of
infrastructure investment with housing development; and

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(6)
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Policy
recommendations, including proposed legislation, to promote housing equity
statewide.

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(g)
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Nothing in this section shall be construed to
discourage affordable housing development in high-need communities.

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(h)
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The corporation may adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 to implement the purposes of this section.
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SECTION 3.
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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 2026-2027 for the development and
implementation of the housing equity dashboard.

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The sum appropriated shall be
expended by the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation for the
purposes of this Act.

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SECTION 4.
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New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Hawaii
Housing Finance and Development Corporation; Housing Equity; Dashboard;
Appropriation

Description:

Requires
the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to develop and maintain
comprehensive Housing Equity Dashboard on the Corporation's website that
provides annual public reporting on certain statistics regarding affordable
housing production.
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Appropriates funds.

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