STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1733

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 547

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 547, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EARLY CHILD CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a two‑year pilot program to subsidize the hourly pay of child care workers for the purpose of retaining those workers in the field of infant and toddler care.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Early Learning Board; Executive Office on Early Learning; a member of the Hawaii County Council; American Association of University Women of Hawaii; HPM Building Supply; aio; Parents and Children Together; Holomua Collaborative; Title Guaranty Hawaii; Hawaiian Host Group; Early Childhood Action Strategy; Hawaii Gas; Hawaii Community Foundation; Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Tori Richard, Ltd.; Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii; Save Medicaid Hawaii; We Are Oceania; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and Hawaii Children's Action Network Speaks!.

Your Committee finds that there are an estimated five hundred fifty child care workers in the State who are potentially eligible for a subsidy under the pilot program, but the Department of Human Services does not have the resources to process that volume of expected requests. Your Committee notes that there are sixty‑seven licensed infant and toddler child care centers in the State. Your Committee believes that it would be more efficient to provide that the application for a subsidy be made by the infant and toddler child care centers for the benefit of their workers and require that the infant and toddler child care centers compile the information for their respective child care workers into an application for submission to the Department.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Providing that infant and toddler child care centers, instead of individual child care workers, apply for the subsidy and enter into a contract with the Department of Human Services to receive the subsidy;

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

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

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. 547, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 547, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair