SCR198: Screwed out of Subrogation, Insurers Urged to Serve Legislature's Agenda by Suing Big Oil
Honolulu loses 2nd-Most 20-somethings of any US City
ILind: … from 2013 to 2023, the share of 20-somethings in Honolulu dropped from about 17% of the population to about 13% — the second-largest such decline of any major U.S. county and nearly quadruple the national drop. The data prompts a big question relating to the city’s economic future….
read … Honolulu is also losing 20-somethings | i L i n d
Blangiardi Admin: Vancouver Tax a ‘huge administrative burden’
SA: … Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration appears lukewarm to the idea of an EHT program, one it says could become a huge administrative burden to oversee.
Conversely, City Council Chair Tommy Waters — who has co-sponsored Bill 46 to penalize real-property owners who leave their Oahu residences vacant for extended periods of time — claims his bill would largely exempt roughly 80% of households on the island from having to pay an EHT….
Bill 46, if adopted, would create a new Residential E tax classification in Honolulu “in place of a more conventional, supplementary tax on empty homes,” he said.
“The bill has two key aspects that impact revenue estimates,” he explained. “First is the tax rate and structure.”
Previous versions of Bill 46 used a tax rate of 1% to 3% of assessed value, “which is consistent with other jurisdictions,” he said.
“But it is important to note that a 3% rate is significantly higher than existing property tax rates in Honolulu,” he said, adding that exemptions were another aspect of Bill 46. “Exemptions are an important part of an empty-home tax policy because they allow for legitimate reasons for a home to be empty and thus not be subject to the tax.”…
Hawaii Kai resident Natalie Iwasa opposed Bill 46, saying the stated purpose of the EHT was “to incentivize people to rent or sell, but this is via a punitive tax that is almost three times the residential (tax) rate.”
“Why not use a carrot, why not give them a credit in their real property taxes if they convert their home?” she asked.
“Bottom line, you folks are saying, ‘We don’t like the way you legally use your property, and therefore we are going to tax you,’” she said. “This is fundamentally wrong. It’s a bad bill and I do not support it.”
The legality of a new EHT was of concern, too.
Those concerns centered on a lawsuit that arose over the City and County of San Francisco’s Proposition M, a November 2022 initiative presented to voters in that city over a vacant-homes tax.
Notably, San Francisco voters passed the proposition — by 54.5% of the vote — which was set to take effect in 2025.
As a new law, Proposition M meant property owners would be charged an escalating amount for each “residential unit” that is “vacant” during the preceding calendar year.
However, in 2023 several plaintiffs — including the San Francisco Apartment Association, the Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute and the San Francisco Association of Realtors — filed suit in the Superior Court of California over the pending city tax.
In November 2024 a final judgment in the case was rendered.
California Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Quidachay ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding San Francisco’s vacant-homes tax violated the “Takings Clause,” also known as the Just Compensation Clause, of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution….
Big Q: Should Oahu adopt an “empty-homes tax” on owners who leave homes vacant for extended periods? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser – 55% ‘NO WAY’
KITV: Oahu homes sit empty as city council debates new tax proposal | Video | kitv.com
REALITY: ‘Empty Homes Tax’ Drives Rent up 37%
read … City Council scrutinizes empty-homes tax | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
HB477: Modernize Hawaii unemployment insurance system
HNN: … House Bill 477 amends the definition of “registered to work” under the Hawaii Employment Security Law, and makes other changes to allow for more interactions and documentation to be done online.
The bill would also amend the qualifications for unemployed individuals who are able to receive certain unemployment benefits…
read … New bill to modernize Hawaii unemployment insurance system
SB1296: State Lawmakers Echo Bissen -- Removing A Hurdle To Rebuild Lahaina.
CB: … More than 20 months after wildfires razed most of Lahaina, nearly 1,400 residential lots have been cleared of debris but only nine homes have been rebuilt, according to data from 4Leaf, the California-based contractor the county hired last year to expedite its permitting process.
State lawmakers passed a bill last week to try to speed things up by exempting several hundred properties from the special management area permit required for construction in delicate coastal zones. The Maui fires prompted the legislation, but it would apply to any such area in Hawai‘i affected by a natural disaster through July 1, 2028.
While there was strong support for the measure, which removes an often lengthy and expensive regulatory hurdle for people devastated by these extreme situations, it’s unclear whether Senate Bill 1296 will significantly expedite Lahaina’s rebuild.
In February, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen exempted from an SMA permit nearly 800 properties mauka of Front Street — the main thoroughfare that runs along the coast — but not the 251 parcels on the makai or ocean side within the erosion hazard line, according to county data.
The bill the Legislature unanimously passed on Friday similarly excludes makai properties, though it’s not clear if the state law extends exemptions to any properties that were not previously granted through Bissen’s action. During final House and Senate negotiations in conference committee, lawmakers amended the bill so it does not apply to shoreline parcels or properties “impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline.” ….
read … State Lawmakers Are Removing A Hurdle To Rebuild Lahaina. Will It Matter? - Honolulu Civil Beat
Lahaina: Historic design rules may block ‘modern’ buildings from being rebuilt after wildfire devastation
MN: … As Lahaina begins to rebuild in the wake of the August 2023 wildfire disaster, residents and visitors of the beloved historic town are asking whether it will retain the historic character that went up in smoke and ashes.
Now, an answer to that question is ready for review on May 6 by the Maui County Urban Design Review Board, which advises the Department of Planning on design-related matters. Draft residential design standards for the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District address a broad spectrum of design issues, ranging from architectural style, a building’s shape, height and construction materials.
The board’s recommendations will be forwarded to the Department of Planning and ultimately inform decision-making by the Maui Planning Commission.
However, the architectural stylebook may be too late for the first application for the precedent-setting commission decision on a special management area permit for reconstruction of a two-story oceanfront Front Street home and its modern design. And, there’s more to come: owners of 11 other oceanfront properties are seeking SMA permits to rebuild, which is nearly 13% of the 86 similarly situated properties destroyed or damaged in the wildfire disaster….
read … Lahaina’s rebuilding: Historic design rules up for review after wildfire devastation : Maui Now
Maui Council to consider response to Young Brothers’ proposed shipping rate hike
MN: … The Maui County Council will consider a draft resolution Friday that opposes Young Brothers’ proposed inter-island shipping rate increase of nearly $26.4 million, or 27% increase over current effective rates.
The Council’s draft resolution is on its May 2 agenda and addresses Young Brothers’ application to the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 15. (Public comments and other case filings can be found here under Docket No. 2024-0255.)
Maui County residents are “highly dependent” on shipped imports, which go directly to Oʻahu before being picked up by Young Brothers and taken at a “hefty cost” to Neighbor Islands, including Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, the resolution says.
The proposed resolution expresses the Council’s concern about adding costs for essential goods, including food and most other cargo.
“Higher prices will inhibit access to affordable goods and services, which are essential to the quality of life for residents,” draft resolution 25-104 says….
read … Maui Council to consider response to Young Brothers’ proposed shipping rate hike : Maui Now
Kamaʻāina housing bill dies in Senate amid statewide affordable housing crisis
MN: … A bill aimed at boosting local homeownership and affordable rentals through state-funded county acquisitions of voluntary deed restrictions has stalled in the Senate Housing Committee and will not advance this legislative session, which ends Friday.
However, during its regular meeting Friday, the Maui County Council will consider its own legislation to use voluntary deed restrictions to pave the way for affordable housing.
House Bill 739 House Draft 2 proposed establishing the Kamaʻāina Homes Program within the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp. to provide state funds for counties to purchase voluntary deed restrictions. These restrictions would ensure homes are occupied by owner-occupants or resident tenants who live and work in Hawaiʻi.
Senate Housing Committee Vice Chair Troy Hashimoto (Wailuku, Kahului, Waihe‘e, Waikapu Mauka, Wai‘ehu) said Tuesday that counties already possess the authority to implement such programs independently….
During its Friday meeting, the County Council will take up Bill 57, which would create a voluntary deed restriction program in the Maui County Code. The measure is up for the first of two readings.
The County measure would “enable open-market homes to be converted to deed-restricted properties, preserving the properties for local residents and the workforce while addressing the growing housing challenges in Maui County.”
The bill calls for using the Homeowner Programs Revolving Fund to promote long-term housing affordability. The Voluntary Deed Restriction Program may be structured to provide a payment toward the purchase price of a home in exchange for buyers agreeing to record a price-capped or resident-occupied deed restriction on the property….
read … Kamaʻāina housing bill dies in Senate amid statewide affordable housing crisis : Maui Now
Pet Projects And Low Budgets: How Lawmakers Undermine School Repairs
CB: … In a year when the DOE listed upgrading softball fields, addressing gender inequities and improving a science classroom at Leilehua High School as top priorities, lawmakers funded — among other things — a $4.3 million covered playground, a $7.2 million covered walkway and $21.6 million for projects at Leilehua that did not include the science classroom.
When school officials asked for $34 million for a new classroom building for ʻIlima Intermediate School in 2022, lawmakers responded with $2.5 million for a new performing arts center instead. The project was so off base from DOE’s original request that officials recently proposed returning the performing arts money to the state. …
read … Pet Projects And Low Budgets: How Lawmakers Undermine School Repairs - Honolulu Civil Beat
Westside Faces More Delays As New Law Threatens Landfill Relocation
CB: … With lawmakers poised Wednesday to approve a new law that would block current plans to move the dump, the city is preparing to ask for an extension of the permit that is set to expire in March 2028.
That’s not a surprise for many residents who have frequently been disappointed in the city’s efforts to move the Waimānalo Gulch landfill from Nānākuli, where it has operated since 1989. “Take your dump out of my yard,” lifelong Nānākuli resident Mark Kong, 66, said. “How much extensions did you folks have? Can’t really count.”
Kong is a member of Nānākuli’s neighborhood board, which receives quarterly updates on the landfill’s status….
read … Westside Faces More Delays As New Law Threatens Landfill Relocation - Honolulu Civil Beat
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