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THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

SUPPORTING THE USE OF INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS.



 1       WHEREAS, economic well-being is not determined solely by
 2   levels of income, spending, and consumption, but is also based
 3   upon levels of savings, investments, and the accumulation of
 4   capital; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, the accumulation of assets can improve economic
 7   stability, provide a viable and hopeful future, stimulate the
 8   development of human capital, and enhance the welfare of
 9   children; and
10   
11       WHEREAS, fully half of all Americans have insufficient
12   savings to finance the accumulation of assets through home
13   ownership, business ownership, or higher education; and 
14   
15       WHEREAS, the household savings rate in the United States
16   lags far behind other industrial nations, presenting a
17   significant barrier to economic growth; and
18   
19       WHEREAS, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are
20   optional, interest-bearing, subsidized, tax-benefitted accounts
21   designed to:
22   
23       (1)  Provide individuals and families, especially those
24            with limited financial means, an opportunity to
25            accumulate assets;
26   
27       (2)  Facilitate and mobilize savings;
28   
29       (3)  Promote post-secondary education, vocational training,
30            home-ownership, and microenterprise development;
31   
32       (4)  Stabilize families; and 
33   
34       (5)  Build communities; 
35   
36   and
37       WHEREAS, IDAs promote higher rates of household savings and

 
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 1   net private investment; and
 2   
 3       WHEREAS, there is evidence that the financial returns of
 4   IDAs, including increased income and tax revenue and decreased
 5   welfare assistance, will far exceed the cost of investment; and
 6   
 7       WHEREAS, members of Hawaii's private sector, non-profit
 8   organizations, and government recognize that IDAs are among the
 9   most promising anti-poverty initiatives to emerge in the last
10   few decades; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, through a partnership between The Waimanalo
13   Community Development Corporation and the Housing and Community
14   Development Corporation of Hawaii, up to 34 families living in
15   public housing will be able to purchase their newly
16   reconstructed homes with money saved in IDAs; and
17   
18       WHEREAS, Parents and Children Together, a nonprofit
19   community development and family service agency, in partnership
20   with Bank of Hawaii, the City and County of Honolulu, and the
21   Office of Hawaiian Affairs, operate a nationally-recognized IDA
22   program on Oahu focusing on saving for starting up businesses;
23   and
24   
25       WHEREAS, in an effort to expand awareness of IDAs as a
26   strategy for economic development and welfare reform in Hawaii,
27   the following organizations have joined to form the Hawaii
28   Individual Development Account Collaborative (HIDAC):  Parents
29   and Children Together (PACT), The Waimanalo Community
30   Development Corporation, Maui Economic Opportunity, The Mutual
31   Housing Association of Hawaii, the Consuelo Zobel Alger
32   Foundation, Bank of Hawaii, Nanakuli Neighborhood Housing
33   Services, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Hawaii Community
34   Loan Fund, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, American Friends
35   Service Committee, the City and County of Honolulu's Department
36   of Community Services WorkHawaii Program, and the Mayor's
37   Office of Economic Development; and
38   
39       WHEREAS, on October 27, 1998, President Clinton signed into
40   law the Assets for Independence Act, which authorizes the U.S.
41   Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a five-year,
42   $25,000,000 IDA demonstration project that would fund non-

 
 
 
 
 
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 1   profit organizations and state and local governments on a
 2   competitive basis, to establish local IDA programs for first-
 3   home purchases, post-secondary education, and microenterprise
 4   development; now, therefore,
 5   
 6       BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 7   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
 8   Representatives concurring, that the Legislature recognizes and
 9   supports IDAs as effective and important mechanisms for asset
10   building that should be used to complement existing income-
11   based social policy in Hawaii; and
12   
13       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests the
14   Department of Human Services, the Housing and Community
15   Development Corporation of Hawaii, and the Department of
16   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to collaborate with
17   IDA practitioners and support organizations to assist in the
18   development of IDAs in Hawaii; and
19   
20       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
21   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human
22   Services, the Executive Director of the Housing and Community
23   Development Corporation of Hawaii, and the Director of
24   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.