Committees approve changes to state rent supplement program, AG urges fee be described as tax

Senate Bill 2,227, which revises the state rent supplement program and establishes a dedicated special fund, was advanced with amendments by the joint Senate committees on Housing and on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts.

Deputy Attorney General Chase Susumoto told the committee the AG’s office submitted written comments and recommended amending the bill to describe the proposed recording transaction fee as a tax rather than a fee. The chair said the committees would accept that recommendation and make the corresponding technical change to the bill language.

The committees also recommended inserting an unspecified appropriation to HPHA to establish permanent staffing for program administration: four permanent public housing specialist II positions and one permanent public housing specialist IV supervisor position. The committee report records a requested appropriation of $284,748 to support the positions.

Committee members discussed technical clarifications and consistency edits; the chair said the committees would double the proposed transaction tax in the bill text at specified lines and noted defective dates and other non‑substantive fixes for clarity. The Committee on Housing and the Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts adopted the chair’s recommendation to pass SB 2,227 with amendments.

Next steps: the bill advances with the AG’s suggested wording change (characterizing the recording charge as a tax), the staffing request noted in the committee report, and other technical amendments.