Housing, homelessness among top priorities for Kaua‘i state lawmakers this legislative session

The 33rd session of the Hawai‘i State Legislature opens Wednesday, with Kaua‘i lawmakers in the House set to lead drives addressing homelessness and the ongoing housing crisis.

The Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate also have announced both issues as top priorities. Meanwhile, a statewide housing emergency Gov. Josh Green declared in 2023 continues.

“The housing crisis is, I think by any measure, worse now than it’s ever been,” said Kaua‘i Rep. Luke Evslin (D-16), chair of the House committee on housing.

Hawai‘i bears the highest cost of living in the country. When Green issued his first emergency proclamation, more than 50% of renters in the state were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their monthly income on rent.

SFGate in December reported the population of Hawai‘i had declined for the eighth consecutive year, with the state’s high cost of living as a leading factor.

On Kaua‘i, median rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $2,320, according to ushousingdata.com. Zillow recently put the island’s average home value at a whopping $984,141.

Speaker of the House Nadine K. Nakamura (D-15), who represents portions of Kaua‘i, said forthcoming measures in the State Legislature are intended to assist the so-called “gap group” or “missing middle.”

Expensive housing projects, as a rule, rely on federal subsidies geared toward low-income families, Nakamura explained. This has led to a dearth of much-needed workforce housing for households earning between 60% and 140% of area median income. This demographic earns too much to qualify for housing under the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, yet too little to otherwise afford a home.

“In order to survive, you need two families working in Hawai‘i, sometimes with multiple jobs,” Nakamura said. “That takes them over the limit.”

In recent years the Rental Housing Revolving Fund Tier Two program was created to provide subsidies to build workforce housing.

“We really want to focus on workforce housing,” Nakamura said. “So that we can build housing for our teachers and firefighters and healthcare workers and grocery store folks.”

The House speaker added the governor is “aggressively” building housing for homeless people through the Kauhale Initiative. Through this program, Nakamura hopes to pursue “supportive housing” that provides additional services.

Those who would benefit include individuals with mental illness, people recovering from substance use disorder, survivors of domestic violence, the formerly incarcerated, veterans and the very young or old.

“We need to do wrap-around services so that they can stay in that housing successfully and really reintegrate back into society in a good way,” Nakamura said. “Instead of cycling through our prisons or jails, or cycling through our hospitals and emergency rooms.”

Evslin will enter the 2025 legislative session with 35 bills in hand. Most relate to housing and reflect Evslin’s multipronged approach to the problem. His angles of attack include regulatory reform for individuals and high-density development; more funding for affordable housing; a reduction in market speculation, vacant homes and transient vacation rentals; and investment in infrastructure.

“I don’t think we can really solve the housing crisis unless we’re doing all five of those together,” Evslin said.

One bill Evslin plans to introduce would inject $150 million into the Rental Housing Revolving Fund Tier Two program to assist the “missing middle” described by Nakamura.

“It’d be a big infusion,” he said.

Evslin’s other projects include a bill that would provide funding to homeowners who build accessory dwelling units on their property.

To receive the funding, Evslin said, homeowners would be required to place a perpetual deed restriction on their home and accessory dwelling unit, “to ensure the unit only goes to somebody who’s working 30 hours a week or more within the state of Hawai‘i.”

Other bills would increase zoning densities around transit areas, specifically the Honolulu rail corridor, and reform Hawaiʻi State Historic Preservation Division regulations to streamline certain permitting processes.

Evslin also wants to increase the conveyance tax for non-owner-occupied, high-value homes. The tax revenue generated would fund infrastructure and permanent supportive housing across the state.

The new legislative session marks Evslin’s first as an elected representative. He joined the House in 2023 when Green chose him to fill a seat vacated by former Rep. James “Jimmy” Tokioka.

2025 also is a year of firsts for Nakamura. She is the first woman speaker of the House in Hawai‘i history and the first Asian-American woman state speaker of the House in the United States.

“We have a chance to do some really good things. We have a great new leadership team,” Nakamura said. “We have 11 new members and a very, very strong group of legislators who are excited about this upcoming session.”