STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2742

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2544

       S.D. 2

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2544, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY'S ADMINISTRATION OF THE FEDERAL HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prevent abuse of the Housing Choice Voucher program by prohibiting household members who possess vouchers from adding new members to circumvent the voucher waitlist process.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of the measure from the Hawaii Public Housing Authority and Community Alliance for Mental Health.

     Your Committee finds that a Housing Choice Voucher does not expire if the recipient remains eligible to receive it.  Under existing law, the program also does not prohibit a Housing Choice Voucher recipient from adding new members to their household, thus allowing those new members to continue receiving benefits when the original member passes away or is no longer eligible.  Your Committee further finds that this circumvents the waitlist process and results in many families having to wait longer for a voucher than necessary.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Providing that the voucher automatically terminates upon the death or removal from assistance of the last original family member who received the voucher;

     (2)  Specifying that for households to retain a voucher in connection with the addition of a minor to the household, the addition must be by birth, adoption, or court order properly reported to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority;

     (3)  Providing that the voucher remains valid until the youngest minor reaches the age of twenty-three if the youngest minor is a full-time student; and

     (4)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style, clarity, and consistency.

     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 S.B. No. 2544, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2544, S.D. 2.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair