STAND. COM. REP. NO. 724

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1107

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1107 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR GENERAL ASSISTANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation of $2,514,822 to the Department of Human Services to support the general assistance program.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services.

     Your Committee finds that the general assistance program provides food, shelter, clothing, and other essentials to some of our State's most vulnerable residents.  Your Committee also finds that the general assistance program does not have the funds to continue offering payments to individuals at the current level, up to $348 per month, through the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014-2015.  Without an emergency appropriation, the general assistance program will either need to drastically reduce payments to recipients through the end of the fiscal year, or in March 2015, the program will need to stop all payments for the remainder of the fiscal year.  Your Committee believes that the general assistance program provides critical financial assistance to low-income and disabled recipients and that any reduction or stoppage of payments would place a major burden on those persons.

     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. 1107 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

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JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair