HI HR74

Requests the State Building Code Council to develop and adopt a "Basic Shelter Appendix" establishing minimum standards for low-cost, rapid-deployment housing solutions such as single-wall plantation homes, Quonset huts, kauhale villages, and prefabricated accessory dwelling units.

Current building code requirements for energy-efficient windows, permanent insulation, and individual kitchens/bathrooms effectively prohibit these alternative housing types, leaving Hawaii without durable tools to address housing shortages and emergencies.

Temporary building code exemptions under emergency proclamations (including after the August 2023 Maui wildfires) enabled innovative housing models, but these solutions expire when proclamations end.

Recommends using HUD Housing Quality Standards, International Code Council Off-Site Construction Standards (ICC/MBI 1200, 1205, 1210), and FEMA humanitarian shelter standards as reference frameworks.

Limits basic shelter standards to projects built or conveyed by government agencies or nonprofit organizations to prevent speculative or profit-driven misuse.