STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3460

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 2638

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2638, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC HOUSING,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve the management and condition of state low-income housing projects administered by the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

 

More specifically, this measure:

 

     (1)  Establishes a five-year maximum term of tenancy, with rental rate fixed as a percentage of the tenant's income for individuals who are less than sixty-five years of age and are not disabled;

 

     (2)  Requires a tenant subject to the five-year maximum tenancy term to participate in the federal Family Self-Sufficiency Program and a trust savings account program, wherein a percentage of the tenant's rental payments are deposited into a trust account administered by the Authority, matched with state funds, and released to the tenant upon vacating the dwelling unit;

 

     (3)  Conditions the Authority's ability to renovate and rent vacant dwelling units in state low-income housing projects upon an individual's agreement to be subject to the five-year maximum tenancy period and to participate in the federal Family Self-Sufficiency Program and the trust savings account program;

 

     (4)  Authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds to finance repair and maintenance of state low-income housing projects; and

 

     (5)  Appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services for repair and maintenance of state low-income housing projects, provision of matching funds for tenant trust accounts, and establishment of positions in the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to manage trust account funds.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the General Contractors Association of Hawaii and one individual.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice and two individuals.

 

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness, the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, and Catholic Charities Hawaii.

 

     Your Committee finds that making safe, well-maintained, and affordable housing available to low-income tenants remains a challenge in the State.  As a major provider of affordable housing, the Hawaii Public Housing Authority needs the necessary tools and resources to effectively manage and maintain its inventory of housing units.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Adding a purpose section to provide general descriptions of the main provisions of the measure;

 

     (2)  Organizing the measure into five numbered parts for ease of reference;

 

     (3)  Deleting provisions that would have established a five-year maximum term of tenancy for individuals who are less than sixty-five years of age and are not disabled;

 

     (4)  Requiring tenants who receive moneys from their trust accounts to spend all the moneys on purchases related to housing;

 

     (5)  Adding provisions that specify tenancy termination requirements upon the termination of the tenancy of the last household member who was an original household member at the time that the initial lease or rental agreement was executed;

 

     (6)  Specifying that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, rather than the Department of Human Services, shall be the expending agency for appropriations authorized by the measure; and

 

     (7)  Conforming internal cross-references in the measure.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2638, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2638, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair