Hawaii lawmakers open new legislative session with eyes on wildfire prevention and housing

HONOLULU– Hawaii lawmakers opened a new session of the state Legislature Wednesday, vowing to address the glaring problems exposed by the deadly wildfire that destroyed the historic town of Lahaina in August: the threat posed by wildfires and the lack of affordable housing .

Lahaina remains in ruins as the cleanup continues slowly and methodically, nearly six months after the fire killed 100 people. Thousands of displaced people are still living in hotel rooms paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency because they can’t find housing — even with FEMA housing subsidies. One reason for this is the tight housing market in West Maui, which is heavily populated by expensive vacation homes.

Lawmakers said solutions to these problems are desperately needed on Maui, but would also help communities across the state.

Firefighting would be a top Senate priority, said Senate President Ron Kouchi, a Democrat.

“And as we move forward, we want to make sure this doesn’t happen on any other island,” Kouchi said of the Lahaina fire in a speech on the Senate floor.

House Speaker Scott Saiki, a Democrat, spoke of “centering Hawaii” by putting the needs and well-being of the people of Maui and Lahaina first.

Proposals to prioritize water use for affordable housing would be one way to do this, Saiki told reporters. He also wants the Legislature to take action to limit vacation rentals, which represent 15% of Maui’s housing supply and 40% of Lahaina’s, according to a University of Hawaii analysis.

“It’s really, really important for the state government and for the Legislature to address short-term rentals directly because I don’t know if the counties really have the ability to do that,” Saiki said. “A few of them have tried over the years but weren’t that successful.”

The House’s bipartisan wildfire bill includes legislation that would give counties explicit authority to phase out short-term rentals, said Rep. Nadine Nakamura, the House majority leader.

Sen. Troy Hashimoto, a Democrat who represents central Maui across the West Maui Mountains from Lahaina, said the Legislature needs to work on where residents will live after FEMA housing assistance ends in February 2025.

“We need to continue to focus on that and get the resources in that area. And we have to show progress,” Hashimoto said.

Protesters from the group Lahaina Strong, who have camped outside Lahaina beach hotels on Kaanapali Beach to demand housing, held a march in Honolulu and a rally at the Capitol to remind lawmakers of their needs.

“There are still over 5,000 victims of the Lahaina fire who are displaced and seeking shelter in hotels,” said Jordan Ruidas, one of the organizers who flew to Oahu for the demonstration. “The concept of home remains a distant dream.”

Ruidas said Lahaina Strong wants the county to revoke the exemptions it has given to 2,500 vacation rental properties in West Maui that are not licensed to be rented for less than 30 days at a time. The group is also asking for protection against rent increases and evictions and for mortgage payments to be deferred for homes lost to the fire.

Hashimoto said lawmakers know Lahaina Strong wants stable housing for Lahaina residents.

“We are listening and we know that is the problem,” Hashimoto said.

Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, chair of the Senate health committee, said mental health care would be another priority because of the disaster. Last year, lawmakers did not increase funding for behavioral health care, but she hopes they will this year.

“The longer victims remain unstable, the higher the stressors, the greater the likelihood of suicides and the greater the mental health problems will be,” she said.

Democrats have an overwhelming majority in the legislature, controlling 45 of the 51 seats in the House of Representatives and 23 of the 25 seats in the Senate.