Hawaii Enacts Pioneer Solar Legislation

By A. J. Johnson & Caitlin Jones
August 25, 2008 1 min read

Hawaii Gov. Linda Ingle (R) has signed into law pioneer legislation (S.B. 644) that requires all new homes in the state issued building permits after 2009 to be equipped with solar water heater systems. The measure is said to be the first state law of its type.

The law directs the state public utilities commission to establish standards for solar water heater systems; bars the issuance of building permits after 2009 for single-family residences without a solar water heating system or permissible alternative that meet specified standards; and discontinues the state’s tax credit for solar thermal energy systems for homes receiving permits after 2009, while establishing other incentives.

Various other existing state renewable energy tax credits, including for multifamily residential and commercial buildings, are unchanged.

Breaking Ground

Jennifer Leimaile Ho, Minnesota Housing Commissioner and Incoming Chair of National Council of State Housing Agencies

Pamela Martineau • December 1, 2024 10 min read

Earlier this fall, Jennifer Leimaile Ho was elected chair of the National Council of State Housing Agencies’ (NCSHA) 2025 Board of Directors. Ho is the Commissioner of Minnesota Housing, having been appointed by Governor Tim Walz in January 2019 and reappointed in 2023.

“Business as Usual”

Leaders in Equity Express Optimism Despite an Uncertain Future

Abram Mamet • December 1, 2024 9 min read

Any outside observer may assume some unease amongst the low-income housing industry. Buffeted on the one hand by residual stressors from the COVID-19 pandemic and on the other by the uncertain prospects of an incoming federal administration keen on cutting spending and shrinking government programs, the affordable housing landscape is experiencing an inflection point.

NCSHA Recognizes Stand-Out Affordable Housing Programs and Initiatives

Pamela Martineau • December 1, 2024 7 min read

This fall, the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) recognized 17 programs offered by state housing finance agencies across the nation that creatively developed tools to tackle their communities’ affordable housing challenges.