If not, members, any questions? >> Questions? Chair for HH FDC. Hi, Mr. Minoami. So, currently, right now, it strikes out language on the cap at 3 million. Is that correct? >> That's correct. >> Um, and it leaves it as a blank appropriation. So, meaning do does HHFDC have a position or would you just prefer not to have a cap? >> Um, it could be a cap. I believe the the Senate version that crossed over earlier was for 4 million $4 billion, which would be fine. Okay, that'll be sufficient for several more years. Okay, thank you. Thank you, chair. >> Thank you very much. Any further questions? If not, we'll move to our next bill. HB um 1740 HD2 relating to HHFDC. Removes a prohibition against qualified residents for HHFDC approved projects holding a majority interest in land and removes the requirement that qualified residents demonstrate financial viability or ability to pay rent.
Um, but if we get the money and we get things funded through SFD, then our our capital funds can be shifted and we can have a staggered plan for buying the buses. So, if we're not using all of our capital funds at once, we can stagger it. And Justin, a lot of districts do this where they're they'll purchase one or two buses a year so that they don't get to a point and all of them are dying at the same time. So, the idea behind this is we have some buses that are in pretty rough shape. Uh Justin's a really good mechanic and so he's talked about, okay, what happens if we start refreshing our oldest buses first and um start replacing them with new buses. Uh the one thing that was pointed out in superintendent advisory, these are all on today's prices. This is me doing it based on quotes.
amends exemptions from statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules for certain housing projects developed by the corporation that satisfy certain conditions, including requirements related to employment, owner occupancy, and deed restrictions. Our first testifier is HHFTC in support. Um, did you already did you testify to that in your written testimony? Okay, thank you. >> Um, followed by ARP in support. Aloha Independent Living Hawaii in support. Church of the Crossroads in support. Hi, Gayen Fox for Church of the Crossroads. Uh, this bill is about the range of qualification uh to uh benefit from uh HHFDC uh funding. It's enlarging the number of uh people who are eligible for such funding. We are concerned about uh dropping from the qualifications that the person be uh the owner be uh with no other property be with a family with no other property. We're also concerned about the fact that the uh coming owner doesn't have to live in the unit.
This is not um projection uh like performance service did. So these are today's prices. Obviously, there's probably going to be inflation. the price is going to go up. But the idea is that if we replace two buses in a year and then get a bus and two of the 14 passengers the following year and we start to get on a cycle with that, then we'll have a good um healthy bus fleet and a healthy uh 14 passenger fleet where uh um coaches, sponsors, teachers can drive the kids around to that. And that's the idea behind that. But our our bus our bus fleet is starting to age and thankfully for good mechanics we're keeping it going. Um so that's that's mainly it for transport. I believe we have one other side slide on transportation. Correct. >> Just that one. And then um Justin sent Todd here to um to speak more about did did we have anything else?
If we keep those conditions which are currently in the picture, we're more likely to help the local people who most need housing. If you already have other property, if you're not going to live in the unit, you're in a different bracket than the people that we're losing to the continent because we don't. >> Thank you very much. Next we have Holo Collaborative in support. >> Chair, vice chair, committee members. Um we are in support of this bill. Um as a survey came out last year underscored the fact uh that about 75% of people said that they might have to uh move to a less expensive state, many of whom within the next 5 years. And most of those site the high cost of housing as one of the reasons. All the more reason why it's great to have a bill like this, which is actually incentivizing the construction of housing that is dedicated for a local workforce and also does it in a way that does things like makes it easier for those folks to be able to go through the administrative process as well as to be able to move up the housing ladder um and stay in that housing.
Because Justin's actually um with the basketball basketball baseball team. Yeah, it's baseball season in Monument Valley. So, Justin couldn't be here today. So, come on down. All right. Um, sorry, I'm kind of new to this. Um, one of their biggest problems with these buses is right now we have some buses that if our instrument cluster goes off our international 7778, if they go, that instrument cluster is considered obsolete now and the factory doesn't make them anymore and there's no aftermarket options. So, if the gauges go out, that bus is done. Um, and one of the big things is that we have a with each new year with the buses, the safety um, sorry, I'm getting nervous. Uh, the safety uh, um, the Sorry, geez. All right. the they uh it they become safer and safer every year with the roll cages and that um like our some of our older buses you drivers like them because you can see the even the kindergarteners you can see over the top of the seats.
So, thanks very much for considering this and we hope you'll support the bill and we do also support HHFDC's movement. Thanks so much. >> Thank you. Next we have Title Guarantee of Hawaii HPM Building Supply Mana Up, Tory Richard and IO in support, followed by Hawaii Community Foundation in support, housing Hawaii's future in support, Hawaii Yimi in support, and several individuals Johnny May El Perry with comments. Um, Chavevel Davis in support, Veronica Moore in support, Ross Esokani in support, and council members Felicia Cen and Kipukai Kui of Kawaii in support. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on Senate bill on House Bill 1740?
The newer buses, they raised them up and they've moved them off center so they're a little more protected if something does happen to in the bus so that there don't fall out as easy or have any more issues like that. Um, like you said earlier, our newest bus is a 21 and that's a sped bus that we got through the Volkswagen thing that is um the mileage on that. I don't have that with me right now, but it's increased. It's near 100,000 miles already. Uh, so our sped buses were out pretty quickly. Um the the one the other newest one of those is a 18 which we bought with the last bond and that one's a little over 100,000 miles and they're starting to wear out. Uh and then our next one is a 13. So, our sped fleet is progressively getting older and that's one of our highest use and highest wear and tear on those.
If not, members, do we have any questions? Um, chair does have a question for HHFDC. So, you heard the testimony from the Church of the Crossroads. Can you explain to the committee why it's important to remove these requirements from the existing statute? >> Yes, we understand the concerns and and for many years, HHFDC's rules did require that um qualified residents who purchase a home could not own any of the property. So, this is this is a very different program and this is a a change in um I guess our our mindset in trying to facilitate housing development. We're trying the intent is to help households move up the housing ladder. Right now, if a home buyer purchases a a unit, it could be a studio unit, they they can live there for 10 years, sell it at market rate, and then have to find something else, and they have to buy another unit on the open market.
Uh then as with even our like our cars is the newer buses because we have some buses that are 2007s and they start up and make most environmentalists probably have a heart attack by the black smoke coming out of it. Uh so obviously the the newer we can get the better exhaust systems we have on there you know it'll be bit better for the community. Um and as we were he had already said about the uh wanting to spread them out. Um because a lot of the the problems that we have with the buses that we purchased recently in the eight in 18 is that they are all having the same problems and it's each bus is having the same problems and they're all having them at close to the same time. Uh, and in that time period, there were some quirks for those that body style.
They could never benefit from another HFDC unit again after that. So, the intent here is that a home buyer could own property and move within the housing housing ladder. they could buy an affordable unit and at some point they could sell it and buy another affordable unit to move up the ladder. So to help them to stay uh help residents to move the housing ladder and not set more barriers than are needed. Essentially, are you saying that the agency is now trying to target maybe a higher income bracket of home buyer that may already exist, own existing real property, may even be collecting rent as a landlord um to your developments. Um, it's really to allow home buyers who have purchased an affordable unit to continue to benefit from units that are produced under our programs so that they don't feel like they're they're that they don't have an opportunity to move up within HHFDC's programs.
And if we would have purchased them one here or two here, you wouldn't have all those same quirks because they were being fixed as they found them. But because they were all at the beginning of that uh model, new model, that they all kind of have the same quirks. so that they have those problems. Um, and the white buses is those can't be used for school to school, but um, that seems to be a trend. Xolo has quite a few. U most of the other districts that I visited have a lot more than we have for the number of students that we have. they uh and like like he was saying the coaches and and anybody can pretty much go through the certification process for those and it just makes it a lot easier because we we've had trips unfortunately we haven't been able to do.
Is there any restriction on the amount of real property that one of these home buyers could own? >> Um, currently I don't believe there is a restriction in this bill. >> Okay. So philosophically, you'd be saying that, you know, an extremely wealthy person who owns a lot of land would be able, you know, and may even be collecting significant rental income would be able to benefit from your developments by living in them, by buying them, even though they may be a wealthy landlord. >> Hypothetically, that could occur. Could you describe some of your projects that or could you describe why this is necessary to you know to expand the scope of your projects and your housing development statewide? >> Well, this bill really does facilitate the development of projects. Um many times projects are not feasible because developers are concerned that they cannot meet sales targets.
Um and no one at the bus barn wants that. like you said, just Justin is out on a trip today and he was in here at 3:30 this morning so that trip could go. Uh, so we got good people down there that they are trying to do their part to try to get everything going and keep all these trips going, but sometimes we just don't have the people to do it.
Um they're concerned about the affordability restrictions being too steep. So under um under this bill there basically would could be no affordability restrictions. It would be very minimal if any. >> Are there social benefits to allowing? >> Oh certainly I mean one of the downsides I would say of affordable housing projects is that uh you know they segregate the segments of the community by income. Um so um it's it's it's a double-edged sword where you give preference or you require income have income requirements but the other hand um strictly enforcing strictly mandating occupancy by income requirements also creates segregation by income. So by removing that requirement, you're allowing ba basically um households from any income to buy into the project. >> Okay. Um well I think you you see that this is a weighty policy decision that we're >> it is not um this is a very different approach to providing housing and it's really the intent is to remove barriers uh that h that inhibit the development of housing.
Is there any questions or >> Yeah. Do you think it's just this time that people we don't have bus drivers? Are people not interested in doing it or we just are too small anymore to get anybody? >> Um, I don't think I think it's it's across the board. Um, when you think about the added requirements that we have for maintaining a CDL, every year it becomes more and more. So, our drivers are having to jump through more and more hoops to be able to maintain that CDL. Um, and we are literally asking for someone to come come in at 5 in the morning. Most of them get to go home at 5 at night. They get that break in the middle, but they're getting six hours. So it that's a lot to ask, especially when you I mean I really appreciate our teachers being in a classroom with 30 kids and trying to keep them focused and that but then put 80 kids on a school bus, they're behind you as you're driving down the road.
>> Thank you. Any further questions members? Okay. If not, thank you. Um we do have a limited amount of time left. I believe we're able to go to 2:45 p.m., but any bills that we won't be able to get to by then, um, we'll have to defer to Thursday. Um, our next bill on this agenda is going to be House Bill 1920 HD1 relating to the low-inccome housing tax credit. It clarifies that a partner or member that is a partnership or limited liability company that has been allocated a low-income housing tax credit may f may either further allocate the credit or transfer, sell, or assign all or a portion of the credit to any taxpayer. and it extends the sunset date of act 129 SLH 2016 relating to the low-inccome housing tax credit until 1231 2032 applies to taxable years beginning after 1231 2026. Our first testifier is HHFTC in support.
You know, that's a lot we're asking from the drivers. So, anything else? >> Well, we all know what the problem is with the buses because they were all bought at the same time. And before that, we used to buy buses two a year when we had enough money to do it. But when we bought those buses, we didn't have anything left. We couldn't even give them away. They were in such bad shape. >> Yeah, I was here for that. >> You were here for that. Okay. So, you know what those looked like? We were so happy to get those buses, but we knew this problem would come >> and probably all of them at the same time. They should really do a study on all these buses we bought at the same time from the same company. >> Yeah. >> See if they all had the same problems.
>> Hawaii Department of Taxation with comments. department stands on our testimony comments. >> Thank you. Um, AP Hawaii in support. Aloha Independent Living Hawaii in support. American Council of Life Insurance in support. Hunt Capital Partners in support. Sugar Creek Capital in support. >> Chairman, Vice Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to express our strong support for House Bill 1920 HD1. I'm Philip Gellman. I work with Sugar Creek Capital and affordable housing investor. We stand by our testimony and I'll briefly note that we have also suggested an amendment in response to and in support of DOAX's amendment. We believe the pushing the effective date back makes sense, gives them time to make sure that they've got their processes in place and the amendment that we've included just clarifies what is eligible starting in 2027 and trying to keep it simple for DOTAC so that they're not having to trace and track the original year of award and they're able to just process in an efficient manner the returns that are coming through to them from this program.
>> So, do you like the idea of staggering? >> Oh, most definitely. >> Yeah. Um, I work in the shop with Justin and we, like I said, we see the same problems, which, you know, nice because we know what we're going at, but when they're expensive ones or like with our two internationals that we have, if the once those gauges go out in the dash, we don't have the ability to fix them. >> That's bad. We were at the point where we couldn't even send a team or anybody to the valley without having somebody ready to go get them because they never made it back home. They'd have to go >> actually go take another bus and pick them up. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Yep. We don't want that to happen. >> We've had other schools pick up our kids when they're >> Yes. >> when our buses broke down on the road.