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This week, there has been major activity on a number of bills affecting you.

Residential Landlord-Tenant Code
HB 105, the Landlord-Tenant Code bill had a hearing in its second committee, the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee.  The bill was passed unamended, and referred to the Judiciary Committee.  The HAR testified in strong support of the bill, the Prosecuting Attorney’s office provided testimony in support of the bill with a suggestion to delete a section of the bill which was already covered by law, and the Mayor of Maui sent a letter in strong support.  An attorney for landlords and condominium associations commented on supporting the bill, but expressed concerns that the police do not provide written reports on a timely basis and that fact would make the bill ineffective.  Attempts will be made to discuss this matter with the Honolulu Police Department.

The Senate counterpart, SB 1335, has not been scheduled for hearing as yet. The Senate has until close of business February 17 to pass this bill out of the Senate Consumer Protection and Housing Committee and onto Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee..

Statutory Agency and Non-Agency Brokerage Relationships

HB 107 and SB 109 have had no action this week. On February 9 and February 10, the HAR Legislative Committee will present more information on Statutory Agency and Non-Agency Brokerage Relationships at the Central Regional Meeting and North Shore Regional Meeting, respectively. For more information on the regional meetings, please contact the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® at (808) 732-3000.

Real Property Disclosures
HB 166 proposes to require sellers of residential property to disclose to buyers the close proximity of agricultural lands by including the geographic information in the disclosure statement provided to buyers.  Although the bill has good intentions, the HAR testified in opposition due to the present difficulties involved in obtaining zoning information.

Coastal Zone Management
HB 1020, “Relating to Coastal Zone Management” which clarifies the definition of “shoreline,” was heard in the House Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee today. The bill would prohibit shoreline planting to establish the shoreline and for certification purposes. HAR testified in favor of the intent of the bill, but raised concerns about the methodology proposed to accomplish this purpose.  The DLNR opposed it because they are working with personnel funded by DAGS, DLNR, and Sea Grant who are following a procedure to more accurately determine and certify the shoreline.  DLNR stated they are seriously looking at an erosion based setback policy.

Land Use
HB 1418, “Relating to Land Use” would redesignate certain residential subdivisions in the Agricultural District into the Rural District, subject to certain conditions.  This bill and other Land Use bills will be heard in the Committee on Water, Land Use and Ocean Resource and the Committee on Agriculture tomorrow, February 5, 2005 at 8:30 a.m.  The bill would provide for more county home rule over zoning of agricultural land and also directly addresses the redesignation of the Hokulia development.

Condominiums
HB 781-“Relating to Condominiums” is the second part of the Condominium Recodification bill and is proposed by the Real Estate Commission. Part I passed last session and cannot be implemented unless Part II is subsequently adopted this session. The HAR testified in strong support of the bill.  Due to the lack of a quorum, no decision was made by the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee on February 4, 2005.  Decision making is rescheduled to Monday, February 7, 2005 at 1:30 in Room 325.

Various Tax Bills

Various county, conveyance, and general excise tax bills will be heard on Friday, February 4, 2005 and Monday, February 7, 2005. Some of the bills are tied to transit systems, while others are connected to affordable housing. More information will be available in next Friday's update.

To view any of the bill text and testimonies submitted by the HAR, visit http://www.hawaiirealtors.com/government_affairs/LA/testimonies.asp.

More details on specific bills will be provided in future Government Affairs Weekly

If you have any questions or comments that you would like forwarded to the Legislative Committee, please call 733-7060 or 1-888-737-9070 or by e-mail at govtaffairs@hawaiirealtors.com.