This is conference committee time at the Legislature, when differences between House and Senate versions of bills are ironed out. Most bills favored by Partners in Care, PHOCUSED, FACE and the Housing Coalition have moved forward to this time; most were also in the governor’s budget bill. The Senate draft of the budget (HB 1700, HD1, SD1) reflects major support for homeless programs, including:

>> $3 million for the Housing First program.

>> $1.1 million for homeless outreach services.

>> $2 million for rapid rehousing services.

In addition, the Senate draft includes capital improvement projects that will fund the construction or renovation of affordable rental housing:

>> $50 million for the Rental Housing Revolving Fund, which funds new construction or renovation of rental housing units. This is more than the $25 million in the House budget but less than the $75 million requested by the governor.

>> $33.29 million for the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund, which funds infrastructure and construction of new rentals by offering low-interest construction loans, etc. This is more than the governor’s request of $25 million, or the House’s $12.5 million.

>> $15 million for the Alder Street project, a mixed-use residential development of about 180 affordable rental units for working families making up to 60 percent of area median income, space for juvenile shelter and services, and parking. A great example of a transit-oriented development project, this was in the governor’s request, but was taken out by the House.

>> $59.6 million in revolving funds for shovel-ready housing projects statewide, which will provide for the renovation of 850 current units and the creation of an additional 1,600 units.

>> On Oahu, about $9 million will target the purchase and renovation of property in the Iwilei area for a permanent supportive housing project (110 units), possibly to be combined with a hygiene center and homeless service center.

These critically needed possibilities are on the table. The Senate has put in money for them; now the House must put the funding into the final state budget for them to happen.

In addition, both House and Senate have passed versions of Senate Bill 2561, which calls for a goal of 22,500 affordable housing units to be created in the next 10 years and creates an action team to recommend how this is to be done. The governor’s leadership team has already shared with developers a draft housing plan calling for 10,000 affordable units over five years; the city is working on a plan of similar magnitude.

Also, the state owns 2,000 acres of land near the rail project that can be considered for housing, and would fall under SB 2561. The city also has land along the route; it also is under a sewer consent decree requiring hundreds of millions in sewer upgrades, a major need for development to proceed.

Crucial pieces are in place to address the huge crisis we face in meeting the affordable housing and homeless needs we face. Groups like the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, the Building Industry Association and developers have testified for many of these initiatives.

We cannot afford to miss this gathering of the political will so we can shed the title of the state with the worst homeless and housing situation in the nation.

We urge the House to join the Senate and governor to move forward on these initiatives.