STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 447
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2023
RE: H.B. No. 1397
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Housing and Health & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1397 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SUPPORTIVE HOUSING,"
beg leave to report as follows:
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness; Department of Public Safety; Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities; Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; one member of the Kauai County Council; Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition; Hawai‘i Youth Services Network; Affordable Housing Connections LLC dba AHC Hawaii; Agency on Elderly Affairs; Catholic Charities Hawai‘i; Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS; Hawai‘i Housing Affordability Coalition; Pacific Housing Assistance Corporation; Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center; The Institute for Human Services, Inc; and six individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and State Procurement Office.
Your Committees find that supportive housing is an innovative and proven solution to some of the nation's toughest community problems. Your Committees further find that a supportive housing program would provide an important complement to the existing Housing First Program, which is focused on chronically homeless individuals. Many individuals experiencing homelessness do not qualify as chronically homeless, and as such cannot participate in the Housing First Program. This measure will provide assistance to several categories of individuals with various housing challenges statewide.
Your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying that the $500 monthly project-based rent supplement payments to project owners are for units that are rented to eligible residents participating in the Supportive Housing Pilot Program to assist the project owners maintaining rentals at levels affordable to eligible households with incomes at or below thirty percent of the area median income;
(2) Clarifying that the Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions shall administer payments for supportive services under the Supportive Housing Pilot Program;
(3) Changing the appropriations to unspecified amounts; and
(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
Your Committees respectfully request your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider the following appropriation amounts:
(1) $50,000,000 for the Rental Housing Revolving Fund for supportive housing projects or supportive housing units in rental projects and one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) Permanent Housing Finance Specialist I position;
(2) $14,000,000 for contracts with new supportive housing rental projects or supportive housing rental units and one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) Permanent Housing Public Housing Specialist position;
(3) $10,500,000 for the provision of support services for qualified individuals and families in new supportive housing projects and one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent position; and
(4) $500,000 for the development of a supportive housing information system.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Health & Homelessness that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1397, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1397, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Health & Homelessness,
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____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair |
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____________________________ TROY N. HASHIMOTO, Chair |
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