HB 1727 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO THE RENTAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.

Summary

Authorizes the Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RURF) to be used to provide any and all forms of financing for the development, pre-development, construction, acquisition, preservation, and substantial rehabilitation of rental housing units. Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) to give preference to certain projects with perpetual affordability commitments and to applicants with a demonstrated history of early repayment to the RHRF. Authorizes HHFDC, with the approval of the Director of Finance, to transfer moneys between the RHRF and its subaccounts without further legislative authorization. Requires certain RHRF loans applied for or awarded after 12/31/2026 to be subject to review and renegotiation when any mortgage debt to which the loan is subordinate is refinanced or retired. Authorizes HHFDC to use reserved but unencumbered funds for short‑term projects with certain conditions. Authorizes HHFDC to secure lines of credit, standby bond purchase agreements, or other credit enhancement facilities to provide liquidity for the RHRF in certain circumstances. Authorizes the Director of Finance to transfer moneys from the RHRF to its Mixed-Income Subaccount for FY 2026‑2027. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1727_HD1 → HB1727_SD1 · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill significantly expands the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation's ability to fund rental housing by redefining the fund's purpose to include equity investments and broader development services. It introduces a new 'Mixed-Income Subaccount' with specific funding priorities for diverse, transit-supportive projects and establishes a 'Bond Volume Cap Recycling Program' to manage debt limits. The legislation also authorizes the use of reserved funds for short-term projects and extends the sunset date for the act from the year 3000 to 2050.

Scope change

The bill broadens the scope of the Rental Housing Revolving Fund from primarily providing loans to also allowing equity investments, credit enhancement, and collateral for various stages of housing development, including acquisition and preservation.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Mixed-income rental project' to clarify that it includes units for households at various income levels, primarily those at or below 140% of the area median income.

FISCAL

Established a new 'Mixed-Income Subaccount' within the fund to specifically target diverse affordability, state-owned land partnerships, and transit-supportive density requirements.

Created a new 'Bond Volume Cap Recycling Program' subaccount to serve as a reserve for managing bond volume cap limits.

Expanded the fund's permitted uses to include equity investments, credit enhancement, and collateral, moving beyond just loans for development, construction, and rehabilitation.

Appropriated $100,000,000 from general revenues to the Mixed-Income Subaccount for fiscal year 2026-2027.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that loans awarded after December 31, 2026, be subject to review and renegotiation if subordinate mortgage debt is refinanced or retired.

Authorized the corporation to use reserved but unencumbered funds for short-term projects (up to three years) with strict repayment and liquidity reporting requirements.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date of the act from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2050, and updated fiscal year references to 2026-2027.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from HOU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3206) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HOU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Chang, Hashimoto, Elefante, Rhoads; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fevella.

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on HOU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-17-26 1:05PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to HOU, WAM.

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 43).

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos.

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Reported from HSG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 574-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HSG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Evslin, Miyake, Cochran, Grandinetti, Kila, Kitagawa, La Chica, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to HSG, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

16 primary · 0 co-sponsors