Bill > HB422

This bill aims to reform school impact fees in Hawaii by eliminating the construction cost component of these fees and making several significant changes to reduce housing development costs. The bill removes the requirement for developers to pay fees for school construction, exempts additional types of housing developments from impact fees (including government housing, affordable housing, Hawaiian home lands housing, and single-room dwellings), and increases the minimum number of units in a development that trigger land dedication requirements from fifty to one hundred units. The legislation is based on an auditor's report that found the existing school impact fee system was ineffective, with only $5.3 million collected in twelve years, which would not have been enough to build a single elementary school. The bill requires the School Facilities Authority to adopt rules governing fee collection and mandates a report to the Legislature by December 15, 2026, evaluating the impacts of these changes. Existing educational contribution agreements will remain in effect unless mutually renegotiated, and the bill includes a sunset provision, applying only to residential developments permitted or approved before June 30, 2029, after which the previous law will be reinstated. The primary goal is to reduce housing costs by eliminating what the legislature considers burdensome and ineffective school impact fees.

Budget and Finance, Education, Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=422&year=2025