Stakeholders warn working group in SB 2342 could sideline public QAP process

The House Housing Committee heard testimony against SB 2342 SD2 on March 20, as Catholic Charities and other housing advocates warned that a legislatively formed working group could limit public input into the Qualified Allocation Plan process and change scoring criteria in ways that would increase rents.

Betty Lou Lars of Catholic Charities Hawaii told the committee she supported revising the QAP but said "it should be open to the community." She said one concern is that increasing points for shorter-term affordability commitments will force higher rents to cover mortgage costs, which could make units unaffordable for seniors and other households.

Committee members pressed HHFDC representatives on how a working group would interact with the QAP update process. An HHFDC representative responded that the agency typically updates the QAP periodically and "recommendations still must be approved with our public hearing and be approved by our board," and that a working group could propose recommendations but could not unilaterally impose changes that would conflict with federal public-hearing requirements.

The exchange focused on whether statutory language in the bill — particularly provisions that describe the working group as charged to "revise" the HHFDC QAP — might inadvertently mandate outcomes and therefore conflict with federal rules that require an open, transparent QAP review process. Committee members discussed revising the bill language to clarify that the working group would make recommendations rather than effect mandatory changes.

The committee recommended moving SB 2342 forward in an HD1 that clarifies the working group's role and adds county housing directors; the recommendation was adopted with recorded reservations from some members.

Next steps: the measure was recommended with amendments; if advanced, HHFDC and stakeholders said any formal QAP changes would still be subject to the agency’s public hearing and board approval.