Bill > HB1922

This bill establishes a Pro-Housing Score Program to evaluate how well each county is doing in creating more housing opportunities and reducing bureaucratic hurdles, with the goal of addressing Hawaii's severe housing shortage. Counties will be required to publicly post their housing scores, and the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) will maintain a public dashboard with related data. The bill also sets criteria for determining if a county is "noncompliant" with housing production goals, meaning they are falling significantly short of their targets for both overall housing and affordable housing. If a county is deemed noncompliant, specific rules will apply to certain housing projects in areas designed for transit-oriented development (TOD), which are areas near public transportation. For these TOD projects, counties must process permits ministerially (meaning based on objective rules, not subjective judgment) and allow development at a density that supports transit use. If a county denies, conditions, or reduces the density of such a project, the applicant can appeal to the Hawaii Interagency Council for Transit-Oriented Development, which will act as an appeals body. Furthermore, if a county is noncompliant, the county's planning director, or a similar official responsible for land use, will be responsible for approving or denying applications for certain affordable housing projects, with limited grounds for denial based on public health, safety, or infrastructure capacity. The bill also appropriates funds to the HHFDC to implement this program, which will take effect on July 1, 2026.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1922&year=2026