Title 20, Social Services

PART I. GENERAL POWERS §356D-1 Definitions. The following terms, wherever used or referred to in this chapter shall have the following respective meanings, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: "Authority" means the Hawaii public housing authority. "Board" …

§356D-10 Agents, including corporations. The authority may exercise any or all of the powers conferred upon it, either generally or with respect to any specific housing project through an agent that it may designate, including any corporation that is formed under the laws of this…

PART VI. AUTHORITY-COUNTY COOPERATION [§356D-101] Gifts, etc., to counties from authority. The authority may make and pay gifts or donations of money directly to any county. Any county may receive the gifts or donations as a general fund realization, and expend the funds for any …

§356D-102 Facilities and services by counties to authority and tenants. Each county within which the authority may own, operate, or administer any public housing project or complex and to which, or for whose benefit, the authority or its predecessors in interest has made (by paym…

[§356D-103] Construction of additional powers. Sections 356D-101 and 356D-102 shall not be construed as abrogating, limiting, or modifying parts II, III, or IV, including amendments thereto. [L 2006, c 180, pt of §2]

[§356D-104] Charges for prior services by counties to authority. Every county (including departments, boards, or instrumentalities thereof) which has, prior to May 14, 1949, provided or furnished any facilities, services, or privileges, including, without limitation to the genera…

[§356D-105] Garbage and trash disposal. Every county that maintains or operates any garbage or trash collection and disposal service shall collect, free of charge, and dispose of garbage and trash at and from any public housing project or complex located within the county, which …

[§356D-106] Furnishing of free water not required. Sections 356D-102 to 356D-105 shall not be construed to require the furnishing of any free water to the authority or to the tenants or occupants of any public housing project or complex owned, operated, or administered by the aut…

[§356D-107] Regulation of traffic within public housing projects in the various counties. (a) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the council of the city and county of Honolulu may regulate traffic within the various public housing projects of the authority in that county by…

§356D-11 Development of property. (a) The authority, in its own behalf or on behalf of any government, may: (b) The authority may develop public land in an agricultural district subject to the prior approval of the land use commission when developing lands greater than five acres…

§356D-11.2 Ceded lands; vacancy; development. No housing projects developed or constructed pursuant to this part shall be developed or constructed on ceded land that is vacant on or after January 1, 2022. [L 2022, c 251, §1; am L 2025, c 89, §5]

§356D-11.5 Broadband infrastructure. (a) Each public housing project or state low-income housing project that is built or reconstructed after January 1, 2023, shall be built or reconstructed with all broadband infrastructure that is necessary for tenants to have access to broadba…

§356D-12 Development of property; additional powers. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, whenever the bids submitted for the development or rehabilitation of any housing project authorized pursuant to this chapter exceed the amount of funds available for that project, …

§356D-12.5 Development of property; partnership or development agreement. (a) Any housing project may be developed under sections 356D-11 and 356D-12 by the authority in partnership or under a development agreement with a private party; provided that a written partnership or deve…

[§356D-120] Additional powers. The powers conferred upon the authority by this part shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law, and nothing in this part shall be construed as limiting any powers, rights, privileges, or immunities of the authori…

[§356D-13] Administration of federal programs. (a) The authority may carry out federal programs designated to be carried out by a public housing agency, or entity designated by the authority. (b) The authority shall adopt necessary rules in accordance with chapter 91, including t…

[§356D-13.2] Housing choice voucher landlord incentive program. (a) The authority shall adopt rules, without regard to chapter 91, to establish the following incentives for landlords participating in the tenant-based assistance housing choice voucher program under section 8 of th…

[§356D-13.5] Housing choice voucher program administration. Any housing choice voucher program voucher issued by the authority shall automatically be returned to the authority upon the death or removal from assistance of the last original household member; provided that, where th…

[§356D-14] Federal funds outside of state treasury. Notwithstanding chapter 38, the authority may establish and manage federal funds outside of the state treasury to be used for federal housing programs. The authority shall invest the funds in permitted investments in accordance …

[§356D-15] Eminent domain, exchange, or use of public property. (a) The authority may acquire any real property, including fixtures and improvements, or interest therein, through: The authority shall exercise the power of eminent domain granted by this section in the same manner …

PART VIII. STATE RENT SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM §356D-151 Rent supplements. The authority is authorized to make and contract to make annual payments to a housing owner on behalf of a qualified tenant as those terms are defined in this part, in amounts and under circumstances as are pres…

[§356D-151.5] Rent supplement; qualification. Except as provided by federal law, nothing in this chapter shall prevent a person who otherwise qualifies for rent supplement under this chapter from taking up to ninety days (from the day the person's application for rent supplement …

[§356D-152] Housing owner; defined. As used in this part, the term "housing owner" means:

§356D-153 Qualified tenant defined; preference. (a) As used in this part, "qualified tenant" means any single person or family, pursuant to criteria and procedures established by the authority, who has been determined to have an income not exceeding the income limit as determined…

[§356D-154] Relationship of annual payment to rental and income. The amount of the annual payment with respect to any dwelling unit shall not exceed the amount by which the fair market rental for that unit exceeds thirty per cent of the tenant's income as determined by the author…

[§356D-155] Determination of eligibility of tenants and rental charges. (a) For purposes of carrying out this part, the authority shall establish criteria and procedures for determining the eligibility of tenants and rental charges, including criteria and procedures with respect …

[§356D-156] Rules. The authority may adopt under chapter 91 all rules necessary to carry out the purpose of this part, including rules relating to determining preference among applicants for state rent supplements. [L 2006, c 180, pt of §2]

[§356D-157] State rent supplement program for kupuna. [Section repealed June 30, 2028. L 2025, c 282, §2.] (a) There is established the state rent supplement program for kupuna to be administered by the authority to provide state rent supplement assistance and other services to q…

[§356D-16] Contracts with the federal government. (a) The authority may: (b) In any contract for annual contributions with the federal government, the authority may obligate itself to convey to the federal government possession of or title to the public housing project to which t…

[§356D-160] Additional powers. The powers conferred upon the authority by this part shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law, and nothing in this part shall be construed as limiting any powers, rights, privileges, or immunities so conferred. …

[§356D-17] Public works contracts. The authority may make, execute, and carry out contracts for, or in connection with, any public housing project in the manner provided in chapter 103D and section 103-53; and, with regard to the contracts, the term "procurement officer", as used…

[§356D-18] Remedies of an obligee; mandamus; injunction; possessory action; receiver; accounting; etc. An obligee of the authority shall have the right, in addition to all other rights that may be conferred on the obligee subject only to any contractual restrictions binding upon …

[§356D-19] Subordination of mortgage to agreement with government. The authority may agree in any mortgage made by it that the mortgage shall be subordinate to a contract for the supervision by a government agency of the operation and maintenance of the mortgaged property and the…

§356D-2 Hawaii public housing authority; establishment, staff. (a) There is established the Hawaii public housing authority to be placed within the department of human services for administrative purposes only. The authority shall be a public body and a body corporate and politic…

§356D-20 Duty to make reports. Except as otherwise provided by law, the authority shall be responsible for the following reports:

§356D-21 Bonds; authorization. (a) The authority, with the approval of the governor, may issue from time to time bonds (including refunding bonds to pay, retire, or provide for the retirement of bonds previously issued by the authority) in amounts not exceeding the total amount o…

§356D-22 Bonds; interest rate, price, and sale. (a) The bonds shall bear interest at rates payable at times that the authority, with the approval of the governor, may determine except for deeply discounted bonds that are subject to redemption or retirement at their accreted value…

§356D-23 Trustee; designation, duties. (a) The authority may designate a trustee for each issue of bonds secured under the same trust indenture; provided that the trustee shall be approved by the director of finance. (b) The trustee shall be authorized by the authority to receive…

§356D-24 Trust indenture. (a) A trust indenture may contain covenants and provisions authorized by part III of chapter 39, and as deemed necessary or convenient by the authority for the purposes of this part. (b) A trust indenture may allow the authority to pledge and assign to t…

[§356D-25] Investment of reserves, etc. The authority may invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds or any funds not required for immediate disbursement, including the proceeds of bonds, in property or securities in which the director of finance may legally invest, as pr…

[§356D-26] Security for funds deposited by the authority. The authority, by resolution, may provide that all moneys deposited by it shall be secured:

[§356D-27] Arbitrage provisions; interest rate. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, neither the authority nor the director of finance shall make loans or purchase mortgages with the proceeds of general obligation bonds of the State or from a revolving fund establis…

§356D-28 Public housing special fund. (a) There is established the public housing special fund to be administered by the authority. Notwithstanding section 36-21, the proceeds in the fund shall be used for long-term and other special financings of the authority, the development a…

[§356D-29] Quitclaim deeds. Unless otherwise provided by law, the authority shall issue quitclaim deeds and leases whenever it conveys, transfers, sells, or assigns any property developed, constructed, or sponsored under this chapter. [L 2006, c 180, pt of §2]

§356D-3 Board; establishment, functions, duties. (a) There is created a board of directors consisting of eleven members, of whom nine shall be public members appointed by the governor as provided in section 26-34. Public members shall be appointed from each of the counties of Hon…

PART II. FEDERAL LOW-INCOME HOUSING §356D-31 Rentals and tenant selection. (a) In the operation or management of federal public housing projects, the authority, acting directly or by an agent or agents, at all times shall observe the following duties with respect to rentals and t…

[§356D-32] Delinquent accounts. (a) Notwithstanding section 40‑82, the authority, with the approval of the attorney general, may delete from its accounts receivable records delinquent accounts for vacated units within federal low-income public housing projects that have been deli…

[§356D-33] Investigatory powers. (a) The authority may: (b) Investigations or examinations may be conducted by the authority, by a committee appointed by it consisting of one or more members of the board, or by counsel, or by an officer or employee specially authorized by the aut…

[§356D-34] Disposition of abandoned or seized property. (a) The authority may sell, donate, or otherwise dispose of property abandoned or seized in or around any federal public housing project upon compliance with the requirements of this section. (b) The authority shall send not…

§356D-4 General powers of the authority. (a) The authority may: (b) In addition to other powers conferred upon it, the authority may do all things necessary and convenient to carry out the powers expressly provided in this chapter. [L 2006, c 180, pt of §2; am L 2013, c 148, §1]