STAND. COM. REP. NO.1158

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 640

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 640, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE LOSS MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the loss mitigation grant program.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Hurricane Mitigation Task Force, Hawaii Security Shutters, LLC, and five individuals. The Hawaii Association of Realtors offered comments on the measure.

Act 179, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, established the loss mitigation grant program to provide partial reimbursement to homeowners who install wind resistive devices in their homes. Although the Act also authorized funding for the program, the $2,000,000 appropriation was line item vetoed by the Governor. This measure restores funding to the program to allow the award of grants to homeowners, retroactive to January 1, 2003.

Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing its contents with the language of a substantially similar measure, S.B. No. 913. As amended, this measure appropriates $3,500,000 and $2,500,000 for fiscal years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, respectively, from the loss mitigation grant fund for the development and implementation of the grant program.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 640, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 640, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing,

____________________________

RON MENOR, Chair