REPORT TITLE:
Public housing

DESCRIPTION:
Establishes a resident advisory board in federal public housing.
Allows a person who resides in federal low-rent public housing or
tenant-based section 8 housing assisted by the corporation to
serve on the HCDCH Board to comply with federal law.  (HB2431
HD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2431
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF
   HAWAII.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to comply with the
 
 2 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, P.L. 105-
 
 3 276, 112 Stat. 2461, (QHWRA) by establishing a resident advisory
 
 4 board, that shall be responsible for:
 
 5      (1)  Advising the Housing and Community Development
 
 6           Corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH) in matters relating to
 
 7           the planning and administration of housing programs; 
 
 8      (2)  Complying with QHWRA requirements; and
 
 9      (3)  Recommending one public member for the HCDCH board to
 
10           the governor. 
 
11      In addition, this Act adds an additional public member to
 
12 the HCDCH board.  To comply with QHWRA and to ensure tenant
 
13 representation on the board, one public member shall be a
 
14 resident who is directly assisted by the corporation under the
 
15 federal low rent public housing program or the tenant-based
 
16 Section 8 housing assistance payments program.
 
17      SECTION 2.  Chapter 201G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 amended by adding three new sections to be appropriately
 
19 designated and to read as follows:
 

 
Page 2                                                     2431
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      "§201G-    Resident advisory board; establishment.  (a) The
 
 2 corporation may establish a resident advisory board that shall be
 
 3 responsible for:
 
 4      (1)  Advising the corporation in matters relating to the
 
 5           planning and administration of housing programs;
 
 6      (2)  Complying with the Quality Housing and Work
 
 7           Responsibility Act of 1998; and
 
 8      (3)  Recommending one public member for the board to the
 
 9           governor.
 
10      (b)  The resident advisory board shall be composed of
 
11 twenty-one members.  Nineteen members shall be federal and state
 
12 public housing residents.  Two members shall be tenant-based
 
13 section 8 recipients.  The public housing residents shall include
 
14 not fewer than two representatives from each of the counties of
 
15 Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai.
 
16      (c)  The corporation shall recognize any jurisdiction-wide
 
17 resident council, as defined under federal law, that requests to
 
18 be designated as a resident advisory board.
 
19      (d)  The members of the resident advisory board shall not be
 
20 compensated for their services but shall be reimbursed for
 
21 necessary expenses, including travel expenses, per diem, and
 
22 child care allowances, incurred while engaged in business for the
 
23 resident advisory board.  
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (e)  The corporation may adopt rules in accordance with
 
 2 chapter 91 with respect to the establishment of the resident
 
 3 advisory board, including but not limited to rules concerning the
 
 4 composition, eligibility, selection, and term of members.  This
 
 5 section shall not apply if in conflict with any federal law.
 
 6      §201G-    Notice of vacancies; election to resident advisory
 
 7 board.  (a) During each odd-numbered year, the corporation shall
 
 8 send notices of vacancies on the resident advisory board to all
 
 9 active resident associations.  The notice shall be sent to all
 
10 public housing managers and posted in a public place.  The notice
 
11 shall allow the active resident association at least thirty days
 
12 to notify the corporation that it is interested in nominating a
 
13 representative to the resident advisory board.
 
14      (b)  The corporation shall convene a meeting at which time
 
15 each active resident association may vote to elect
 
16 representatives for the available positions on the resident
 
17 advisory board.  Each representative of the active resident
 
18 association may designate an individual who may participate and
 
19 vote in their absence.
 
20      (c)  In the event that the corporation receives fewer
 
21 nominations than there are vacancies on the resident advisory
 
22 board, any public housing resident, residing in a project without
 
23 an active resident association, may seek nomination to the
 

 
Page 4                                                     2431
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 resident advisory board if the resident is able to obtain
 
 2 signatures from a majority of the residents residing in the
 
 3 resident's housing project.  The signatures shall be collected
 
 4 and received by the corporation no later than thirty days after
 
 5 the corporation's deadline for notice specified in subsection
 
 6 (a).
 
 7      §201G-    Resident advisory board nomination of board
 
 8 member.  (a)  The resident advisory board shall recommend to the
 
 9 governor the name of one individual who resides in public housing
 
10 prior to the governor filling any vacancy for board positions
 
11 that require that the public member reside in state or federal
 
12 public housing.
 
13      (b)  The resident advisory board shall make its
 
14 recommendation for the nominee to the board at a public meeting.
 
15 The corporation shall send notice of the meeting at least twenty-
 
16 one days prior to the public meeting to all active resident
 
17 associations.
 
18      (c)  The nominee to the board shall be:
 
19      (1)  A resident of state or federal low-rent housing
 
20           assisted by the corporation and need not be a member of
 
21           the resident advisory board;
 
22      (2)  At least eighteen years of age; and
 
23      (3)  A signatory on the housing lease agreement."
 

 
Page 5                                                     2431
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      SECTION 3.  Section 201G-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by adding three new definitions to be appropriately
 
 3 inserted and to read as follows:
 
 4      ""Active resident association" means an association:
 
 5      (1)  Of low-rent public housing residents in a state or
 
 6           federal project assisted by the corporation;
 
 7      (2)  That has held elections according to its bylaws; and
 
 8      (3)  That has held not less than four association meetings
 
 9           in the preceding twelve months.
 
10      This meeting requirement shall not apply where the election
 
11 occurred within six months of the corporation notice of vacancies
 
12 for resident advisory board members as set forth in section
 
13 201G-    .
 
14      "Public housing resident" means any person:
 
15      (1)  Who resides in state or federal low-rent housing
 
16           assisted by the corporation, as authorized by chapter
 
17           201G;
 
18      (2)  Who is eighteen years or older; and
 
19      (3)  Whose name appears on the lease agreement.
 
20      "Tenant-based section 8 recipient" means any recipient of
 
21 tenant-based housing assistance authorized by the United States
 
22 Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by
 
23 the corporation."
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      SECTION 4.  Section 201G-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended as follows:
 
 3      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
 4      "(a)  There is created a board consisting of [nine] eleven
 
 5 members, of whom [six] eight shall be public members appointed by
 
 6 the governor as provided in section 26-34.  Public members shall
 
 7 be appointed from each of the counties of Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui,
 
 8 and Kauai.  One public member shall be the chairperson of the
 
 9 rental housing trust fund advisory commission.  One public member
 
10 shall reside in federal low-rent public housing or federal
 
11 section 8 tenant-based housing assisted by the corporation.  The
 
12 public members of the board shall serve four-year staggered
 
13 terms; provided that the initial appointments shall be as
 
14 follows: [two]
 
15      (1)  Two members to be appointed for four years; [two]
 
16      (2)  Two members to be appointed for three years; and [one]
 
17      (3)  One member to be appointed for two years.
 
18      The chairperson of the rental housing trust fund advisory
 
19 commission shall serve a concurrent term on the board.  The
 
20 director of business, economic development, and tourism and the
 
21 director of human services, or their designated representatives,
 
22 and a representative of the governor's office, shall be ex
 

 
 
 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 officio voting members.  The corporation shall be headed by the
 
 2 board."
 
 3      2.  By amending subsection (c) to read:
 
 4      "(c)  [Five] Six members shall constitute a quorum, whose
 
 5 affirmative vote shall be necessary for all actions by the
 
 6 corporation.  The members shall receive no compensation for
 
 7 services, but shall be entitled to necessary expenses, including
 
 8 travel expenses, incurred in the performance of their duties."
 
 9      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
10 New statutory material is underscored.
 
11      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.