SB1610 establishes an Ohana Zones Program within the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions to provide temporary housing and supportive services for homeless individuals and families, using principles similar to Housing First. The bill authorizes the office to identify and operate sites on public or private land, allows for off-grid utilities where needed, and contemplates secure dwelling spaces, hygiene facilities, food preparation areas, medical and social services, and transportation to appointments. It also requires the office to set evaluation criteria, milestones, performance measures, and oversight controls, and to report annually to the Legislature on site selection, progress, outcomes, and the program’s impact on homelessness.
The bill also amends the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation’s general excise tax exemption statute to include ohana zone projects, and it requires regulatory agreements for such projects, including a ten-year minimum term for substantial rehabilitation projects and ohana zone projects. In addition, it defines “ohana zone” and “kauhale” in statute, with kauhale described as a communal living/affordable housing model for people experiencing houselessness. The bill includes two appropriations for fiscal year 2025-2026: one for transient temporary housing under the ohana zones program and one for development and management of kauhales or semi-permanent housing, though the dollar amounts are left blank in the text provided.
If enacted, SB1610 would add a new statutory program in chapter 346, formally embedding ohana zones into Hawaii’s homelessness and housing framework and directing the Department of Human Services and the statewide homelessness office to administer it. It would also expand tax-exempt financing treatment under section 201H-36 to include ohana zone projects, potentially lowering project costs and encouraging development. The bill further creates statutory definitions for ohana zone and kauhale, and it requires annual legislative reporting and program oversight. The measure would affect state and county land use, contracting, environmental review-related exemptions, and housing program administration, while preserving floodplain compliance requirements.
The available voting history shows strong and unanimous committee support at each stage reported: Senate Housing, Senate Health and Human Services, and Senate Ways and Means all passed the bill with amendments and no dissenting votes. That suggests the bill was generally viewed favorably as a homelessness-response and affordable-housing measure. The amendments indicate lawmakers were refining the proposal rather than rejecting its core approach.
No committee transcript is provided, so specific arguments for or against the bill are not available. Based on the text, likely areas of concern include the scope of exemptions from chapters 6E, 46, 103D, 103F, and 343; the use of public land and private land agreements; environmental impacts, especially on nearshore resources; and the open-ended appropriations with blank dollar amounts. Another possible point of discussion is the distinction between temporary ohana zones and more permanent kauhale housing, including how funds and program priorities should be allocated between them.