Hawaii Senate Bans (some) Home Purchases

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The Hawaii Senate passed a bill restricting home purchases by non US citizens.  The State House still needs to weigh in on the measure.  B&B restrictions, home restrictions*, maybe the government wants us all to move into hotels, solving the problem of no tourism.


The bill would generally bar purchases of homes that are more than 5 years old by people who are not U.S. citizens and legal residents, as well as companies and trusts controlled by nonresident aliens.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/03/17...purchases/

* telling me who can buy my home, thereby limiting a potential sale

[Ccat]

The Hawaii Senate passed a bill restricting home purchases by non US citizens. 
...bar purchases of homes that are more than 5 years old by people who are not U.S. citizens and legal residents, as well as companies....

So, why is it OK for foreigners to buy new if they can’t buy old...Seems strange.   Looking at Puna you can find rundown (abandoned?) property owned by foreigners, but the 5 year rule wouldn’t have stopped it, IMHO.

[TomK]

Does someone have a link to the actual bill? I'm curious about the definition of "legal residents". I bought a house here while I was on a visa which means I was legally here but not permanently. Unfortunately, the HNN article references a Star-Advertiser article which is behind a pay-wall. And anyway, is this going to make any difference at all? It's a case of here's something we can do, so let's do it.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

TomK,
The news article is from earlier in the year, but when I read the post about it yesterday the bill was treated as current.  I did a little more research but can’t find more recent updates, so I’m not sure if the bill was defeated or is languishing.  Here are the details, I’ll see if I can find out it’s current status:
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=3110

[kalakoa]

homes that are more than 5 years old

This is the relevant part. Exempts new build luxury homes and high-rise condos, too bad about resale for long-time owners. Follow the money.

[Tom.Yost]

" SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on December 31, 2050."

I saw a comment online that it was killed in the House. I don't think it would have stood up to a federal court challenge, so the state probably saved a bunch in legal costs by having the measure die.