STAND. COM. REP. NO. 586

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 897

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 897, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Require the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Homeless Programs Office of the Department of Human Services, and Hawaii Association of REALTORS to conduct a survey to identify and inventory vacant housing units statewide that could be used as affordable rental housing; and

 

     (2)  Require those agencies to report annually to the Governor and the Legislature on the results of the survey.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Catholic Conference and the Hawaii Family Forum.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Hawaii Association of REALTORS, and Kanani Kaaiawahia Bulawan.

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure attempts to address the needs of the growing homeless population in Hawaii and to increase the inventory of affordable rental housing by gathering data regarding vacancies and vacancy rates for affordable housing.

 

     After considering the testimony received, your Committee finds that this measure does not meet its stated purpose of addressing the shortage of affordable rentals and would be costly to implement.  A survey of vacant affordable housing requires data regarding vacancies, which would be a mere product of the specific point in time at which the data was collected.  Vacancy rates change daily as tenants give notice and others are placed in units.  Thus, the proposed survey would fail to credibly reflect current vacancies and vacancy rates.

 

     Your Committee further finds that S.B. No. 900, S.D. 1, establishes a Hawaii Interagency Council on Homelessness and provides for the specific duties of the Council.  Your Committee believes that S.B. No. 900, S.D. 1, addresses the shortage of affordable rentals, and could be implemented at a savings to taxpayers.  Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Removing its contents and replacing them with the contents of S.B. No. 900, S.D. 1, except for section 6 of S.B. No. 900, S.D. 1, and all references to that section, which appropriates funds for administrative expenses;

 

     (2)  Changing the effective date to upon approval; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 897, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 897, S.D. 2.

 


Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Housing,

 

 

 

____________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair