Supporters highlighted
Projected improved affordability and decreased housing costs from returning units to long-term residential use.
Housing & Bill 9
What Bill 9 does, how candidates respond, and how each side cites the UHERO study.
June 2026 development
Bill 9 implementation watch
Units affected
~6,200
West Maui deadline
Jan 1, 2029
Rest of county
Jan 1, 2031
Backers say
Returning apartment-zoned TVRs to long-term use will improve affordability for kamaʻāina after short-term rentals reached 21% of Maui housing stock.
Critics say
Projected tax and tourism revenue losses will hurt jobs and county services without guaranteeing units become affordable rentals.
How both sides cite UHERO
A University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization study was cited by both sides. We present both interpretations with attribution. No endorsement.
Opponents highlighted
Projected widespread job loss and significant reduction in county tax revenue.
Background
The August 8, 2023 Lahaina wildfire killed 102 people, destroyed more than 2,200 structures, the vast majority residential, and displaced roughly 12,000 residents (Civil Beat has used “more than 12,000”; published estimates commonly range from about 10,000 to 13,000). It intensified a pre-existing housing crisis on an island where short-term vacation rentals had come to represent 21% of total housing stock, the highest percentage of any county in Hawaiʻi.
What Bill 9 does
Signed into law by Mayor Bissen on December 15, 2025 after a 5-3 council vote:
- Phases out “Minatoya” transient vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts
- 6,000+ units expected to return to long-term residential use
- Phase-out deadline: January 1, 2029 (West Maui); January 1, 2031 (rest of county)
- Does not eliminate all tourism; ~6,500 other TVR parcels plus hotels and B&Bs continue
How both sides cite UHERO
A University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization study was cited by both sides:
- Supporters highlighted projected improved affordability and decreased housing costs
- Opponents highlighted projected widespread job loss and significant reduction in county tax revenue
This site presents both interpretations with attribution. No endorsement.
Use the cards below for each candidate’s framing: what they say broke, and what they say should happen next.
Where candidates stand
Same issue for both races. Switch office, then for County Council pick a residency seat to compare candidates running against each other.
Race
Richard T. Bissen Jr.
Convert STRs to homes
“Ninety-four percent of the units affected are owned by people who don't live in Maui County.”
How they frame the problem
Maui’s housing crisis was already severe; Lahaina made it catastrophic. Apartment-zoned short-term vacation rentals (a large share owned by non-residents) lock up stock that should house local families. Waiting for new construction alone will not restore kamaʻāina housing fast enough.
What they say should happen
Defend and implement Bill 9’s phase-out (West Maui by 2029; rest of county by 2031) so 6,000+ units can return to long-term residential use; pair conversion with continued affordable-housing production (administration cites 880+ delivered since 2023; 3,000 planned by 2030).
Introduced and signed Bill 9 in December 2025 after a 5-3 council vote. Contested UHERO projections are cited by both sides below.
Yuki Lei Sugimura
Minimize economic damage
How they frame the problem
Bill 9 risks large annual revenue losses (~$60M property tax and ~$15M GET/TAT figures she has cited) that fund county services, while units may sit vacant or sell to investors rather than become affordable rentals. Housing goals fail without the infrastructure to build.
What they say should happen
Does not seek repeal; focuses on minimizing economic damage and putting “pipes, permits, and pavement” first so homes can actually be built, including cutting permit times and investing in water, roads, and wastewater ahead of conversion mandates.
One of three dissenting votes on Bill 9. Summarized from council record and campaign framing in local coverage and the research brief.
P. Denise La Costa
Repeal + Homes Together
“Maui collects about $65 million every year from short-term rental property taxes. We can let that money disappear under a law that won't create a single home. Or we can use it to help local families buy homes.”
How they frame the problem
Bill 9 phases out STR tax revenue without producing a single home. Maui collects about $65M/year (per campaign) from short-term rental property taxes that could fund local buyers and renters instead of disappearing under a phase-out that, in her view, fails the housing test.
What they say should happen
Day One: transmit Bill 9 repeal packaged with Homes Together, including down-payment aid ($50k-$80k; up to ~$110k with other programs), rental stabilization for up to 1,750 households/year, fire-impacted rent relief, and DHHL partnership.
Campaign positions from mayorlacosta2026.com/homes-together. Program scale and savings figures are campaign models, not official county estimates.