STAND. COM. REP. NO.  620-08

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

 

RE:   H.B. No. 2511

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services & Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 2511 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENTAL ASSISTANCE,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to allow an individual who qualifies for a rent supplement up to 180 days from the approval of the application to find a rental unit.

 

     The Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) provided comments.

 

     Your Committee finds that a commonly-stated reason for homelessness is that working families are unable to pay rent.  As a result, it is difficult to require families to secure a unit for one or two years while waiting for approval for the Rent Supplement Program (Program).  These situations do not help to relieve the state's severe homeless epidemic.

 

     Given the state's homeless crisis, it is more feasible and realistic to model the Program more closely to the Section 8 program, thereby allowing a homeless family time after being approved for the Program to find a unit they can afford with the help of the rent supplement.

 

 

 

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Reducing the time to find a unit from 180 to 90 days; and

 

     (2)  Requiring HPHA to give priority to applicants who are homeless or in emergency or transitional shelters, once the current waitlist is exhausted.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services & Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2511, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2511, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services & Housing,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

MAILE SHIMABUKURO, Chair