Legislators are convening today, confronting myriad demands on the public purse. And although Hawaii’s economy is basically strong and lawmakers have faced far more dire circumstances before — the fallout from the financial crash seven years ago comes to mind — they certainly can’t adopt a freewheeling spending attitude.
In addition to paying down the unfunded liabilities of state employee retirement obligations, it’s clear that the broad issues of housing needs and home-
lessness should rise to the top of the priority list.
The public has spoken its mind on homelessness, which now ranks No. 1 among concerns identified in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Hawaii Poll, based on a December-January survey. It’s disappointed with government responses to the crisis. Although both Gov. David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell have engaged on the issue, the general impression is that their efforts have been insufficient.
The popular impression is correct, in that addressing Hawaii’s housing deficit, as well as the social ills that factor into homelessness, will take years. The steps taken so far represent a decent start — the transitional housing and social service outreach of the city, the efforts by the state to use “Housing First” grant money and tap private rental landlords to accommodate the homeless.
But there’s so much to do that lawmakers must find ways to attack the problem on multiple fronts. For the most permanent fix, the rentals deficit must be cut as quickly as possible.
Two options are obvious: The Hawaii Public Housing Authority needs to get funding to repair its units and move them back into the affordable-rental inventory. There must be further investments in the Rental Housing Revolving Fund used by the Hawaii Housing Finance &Development Corp. to leverage financing for affordable rentals construction projects.
In addition, the Legislature is pursuing a promising strategy enabled last year by the passage of House Bill 142. The legislation presses the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to provide its own inventory of rentals, serving its Native Hawaiian beneficiaries who may not be able to qualify for home ownership.
The law regulates how DHHL uses revenue from its allotment of affordable housing credits, which are allocated by the state to incentivize affordable housing. Agencies can sell the credits to developers, who in turn can use them in place of providing the units in a project.
DHHL now must reserve one-quarter of what it earns from the transfer of credits for affordable rentals. House Democratic Majority Leader Scott Saiki said leadership will steer DHHL toward rentals, which sounds like a reasonable policy to pursue.
In addition to housing, various other concerns are arrayed before lawmakers. Just a few of them:
>> Public interest in a state-run lottery is piqued by the recent excitement over the Powerball winners. Gambling — especially casino gaming — has been a contentious issue that’s difficult to raise during an election year for lawmakers. But the question of why Hawaii remains one of only six states without a lottery is one the public should have a chance to discuss this year.
>> A proposal for long-term care insurance also deserves a full discussion during the 2016 session, even if the envisioned funding mechanism — a half-percentage point added to the state income tax — also may be a heavy lift for politicians heading out for the campaign trail. Senate Bill 727, introduced last session, should be taken up in the Ways and Means Committee.
>> Medical marijuana dispensaries will make their legal debut this calendar year, with new state Health Department regulations in place. Lawmakers should hold off on major reforms until after the system is up and running, but time should be made to discuss potential problems that could be addressed in the future.
Primarily, however, the 2016 Legislature will be a battle over dollars and cents. Ige has not allocated enough to cover all the potential obligations, from court-ordered DHHL appropriations to various unbudgeted labor costs.
Tough choices await legislators, who must commit firmly to the most critical needs. There is a budgetary surplus — the Ige administration calculated it at $828.1 million in fiscal 2015. However, that money will go quickly, and it needs to be invested in ways that improve the state’s overall health for the long term.
