By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Hawaii, in order to provide relief for disaster damages, losses, and suffering, and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people, I, JOSH GREEN, Governor of the State of Hawai’i, hereby determine, designate, and proclaim as follows:

WHEREAS, pursuant to Chapter 127A, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), emergency powers are conferred on the Governor of the State of Hawai’i to respond to disasters or emergencies, to maintain the strength, resources, and economic life of the community, and to protect the public health, safety, and welfare; and

WHEREAS, the need for an immediate and profound solution to Hawaii’s affordable housing shortage necessitates the advancement of affordable housing projects in a way that will ensure the production of affordable housing units immediately and going forward; and

WHEREAS, the increasing costs of construction material, labor, and regulatory compliance has significantly impacted the financial viability of affordable housing projects, compelling a reevaluation of funding strategies and resource allocation to ensure these projects continue to develop in the face of escalating expenses; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (“HHFDC”) is statutorily authorized to grant exemptions to statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any government agency relating to planning, zoning, construction standards for subdivisions, development and improvement of land, and the construction of dwelling units thereon; and

WHEREAS, due to the automatic adoption of the unamended state building codes pursuant to section 1O724 Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), the counties are now required to adopt unamended state building codes as interim building codes; and

WHEREAS, the counties may not be prepared to amend the unamended state building codes or to make necessary amendments to the unamended building codes prior to the deadline established in statute; and

WHEREAS, it is necessary for the counties to retain the authority to update their respective building codes and to provide them with sufficient time to amend their building codes to address local conditions; and

WHEREAS, it would slow down ongoing affordable housing projects if, in the middle of the projects, they have to conform to the unamended state building codes without prior notice and without amendments to the state building codes that reflect changes needed to adjust the codes to local conditions; and

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