Committee advances bill to change inclusionary mandates after competing testimony

The House Committee on Water and Land advanced HB 17‑41 HD1 after testimony that split along familiar lines on inclusionary housing mandates.

Ted Kepales of the Grassroot Institute argued the bill corrects a problem: he said inclusionary mandates can reduce the overall housing supply and raise market rates because developers face constrained economics, using a numerical analogy to explain incentives. "If you had to sell 3 out of every 10 products at a loss, you would then have to raise prices on the other 7 products," he said.

Matthew Frisbee (on Zoom) testified in support of the bill from a social‑service perspective, saying the measure would increase housing supply, align rules with recent court decisions, and help working families and kupuna who currently spend a large share of income on housing.

Committee members asked about implementation details, including which entities would carry out a needs‑assessment study and whether counties would be required to contract it out; witnesses said counties would be required to contract the study but did not identify a specific reviewer.

After discussion the committee adopted the chair’s recommendation to pass HB 17‑41 to the next committee, recording several members’ reservations about home‑rule issues but moving the bill forward for further consideration.