STAND. COM. REP. NO. 467-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 2556

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 2556 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII ABLE SAVINGS PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Amend the sources of funding for the Hawaii ABLE Savings Program trust fund;

(2) Amend the authorized uses of monies in the trust fund, including providing incentive payments to Hawaii public school ABLE savings account owners;

(3) Appropriate funds to the Department of Budget and Finance to fund the incentive payments; and

(4) Appropriate funds to the Department of Health to establish one position within the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to support the Hawaii ABLE Savings Program.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance; Executive Office on Aging; State Council on Developmental Disabilities; Disability and Communication Access Board; Hawaii Disability Rights Center; Work Now Hawaii; and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that the Hawaii ABLE Savings Program is a program that allows individuals with disabilities to have the same types of flexible savings accounts as individuals without disabilities. Through these accounts, individuals with disabilities can accrue funds to pay for a variety of expenses, such as medical and dental care, education, community-based supports, employment training, assistive technology, housing, and transportation. Your Committee further finds that approximately twenty-three thousand individuals with developmental disabilities are eligible to open an ABLE Savings Program account and an additional twenty thousand individuals with other disabilities who are eligible for an ABLE Savings Program account. This measure is intended to provide funding and resources to grow the use of ABLE accounts in the State, which will allow more of the State's disabled residents to have access to resources of their own.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2556, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2556, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health & Homelessness,

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair