STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2884

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2442

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Housing and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2442 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to combat homelessness in Hawaii by establishing and appropriating funds for the kauhale pilot program to provide permanent shelter and certain services to homeless individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Lieutenant Governor's Office; Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness; Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Hawaii County; Habitat for Humanity Hawaii Island, Inc.; Partners in Care & Hawaii Kai Homeless Task Force; Hawaii Island HIV/AIDS Foundation; Partners in Care; Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center; Catholic Charities Hawai‘i; Waimanalo Kauhale, Inc.; Hope Services Hawaii, Inc.; Democratic Party of Hawai‘i; HomeAid Hawaii; Castle & Cooke Hawaii; and twelve individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services; Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; and State Procurement Office.

Your Committees find that "kauhale" traditionally means a Hawaiian village that houses members of an ohana, whether related by blood or not, who treat each other as extended family. Your Committees further find that this traditional housing model, which is grounded in Hawaiian culture and values, presents an opportunity to improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness. While significant strides have been made, current attempts to address homelessness in Hawaii remain insufficient. Hawaii continues to have the highest number of homeless individuals per capita of any state in the nation. Your Committees find that the Governor has combated homelessness via emergency proclamations; however, emergency proclamations cannot be extended in perpetuity. This measure will forward these goals by establishing the kauhale pilot program to provide permanent shelter and other services to homeless individuals by continuing the work of the Governor's emergency proclamation on homelessness.

Your Committees further find that the Office of the Lieutenant Governor has the capacity and ability to oversee the kauhale pilot program. Additionally, your Committees find that the program would be better served by leasing land used for the pilot program. Furthermore, the exemptions from Hawaii Revised Statutes included as part of the Governor's emergency proclamation should be included in the pilot program in order to expedite building these permanent shelters. Your Committees note that the kauhale pilot program is limited to six sites identified on Oahu where support already exists for the pilot program. These six sites are identified in HomeAid Hawaii's testimony as Waimanalo, Nimitz, Kalaeloa, Sand Island, Pearl City, and Waianae.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the office of the Lieutenant Governor will administer and oversee the kauhale pilot program;

(2) Changing the measure to authorize state or county agencies to lease land, rather than transferring it, to an entity managing the kauhale pilot program;

(3) Creating two new positions within the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation;

(4) Exempting the kauhale pilot program from the same provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes listed by the Governor in the Governor's December 14, 2018 emergency proclamation on homelessness, and providing a sunset date for those exemptions;

(5) Clarifying that kauhale homes will be permanent homes and not temporary, traditional, or emergency shelters;

(6) Changing the listed requirements for a kauhale to be advisory rather than mandatory;

(7) Adding to the list of services a kauhale will provide;

(8) Providing access to transportation to residents of the kauhale;

(9) Adding a provision that would allow kauhale to be built on private lands;

    (10) Authorizing the appropriations to be used for infrastructure;

    (11) Amending the purpose of kauhale to include shared responsibilities; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2442, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2442, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Government Operations,

________________________________ LAURA H. THIELEN, Chair

________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair