STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3200

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1834

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 1834, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to increase the base budget of the Department of Human Services' Homeless Programs Office.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services; Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; County of Hawaiʻi Office of Housing and Community Development; The Institute for Human Services, Inc.; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi True Cost Coalition; Steadfast Housing Development Corporation; Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice; Aloha United Way, Inc.; Hawaiʻi Youth Services Network; Hope Services Hawaii, Inc.; Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center; Partners In Care; Parents And Children Together; and two individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Human Services' last major increase in funding for core components of its homeless services system was in 2016. Your Committee further finds that since 2016, operating costs for service providers as well as the number of people experiencing homelessness have increased dramatically. This measure provides the necessary increase in resources to the Department of Human Services to meet the increased operating costs to provide homeless services for the growing homeless population that require these services.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Making it effective upon its approval; and

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

Your Committee notes that although this measure, as amended, contains an unspecified appropriation amount, the Department of Human Services' testimony requests an appropriation amount of $1,320,000 to be included in the Executive Budget, which is an increase of five percent over the current state funding of $26,425,616, for homeless services contracts. Your Committee further notes that, according to additional testimony received by your Committee, this amount is significantly lower than what would adequately reflect the increase in operating costs for providers over the past nine years, which would be $5,285,123, a twenty percent increase. Accordingly, should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider an appropriate amount to be inserted.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1834, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1834, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair