STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3343
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: H.B. No. 2114
H.D. 1
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2026
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Government Operations and Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2114, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to:
(1) Establish the Hawaii Benefits Hub within the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to act as a central repository for the needs and credentials of the State's residents applying to state-managed social assistance benefit programs and as a central registry for qualified volunteers and educational programs that meet social assistance benefit program community engagement requirements;
(2) Expand the responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer to include collaboration on the development and implementation of a statewide portal to government services; and
(3) Appropriate funds.
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Primary Care Association, AlohaCare, and two individuals.
Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services and Office of Enterprise Technology Services.
Your Committees find that residents of the State face significant challenges meeting the requirements of state-managed social assistance benefit programs, including constantly providing the same information to retain eligibility and navigating differences between programs. Additionally, recent changes to federal requirements for federal social assistance benefit programs may further strain the efforts of residents to access benefits and state agencies to administer them. Your Committees believe one strategy to mitigate these difficulties would be a benefits hub created by the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to act as a single point of entry for residents to access, manage, and understand their benefits. This measure will decrease administrative burden, modernize health care services in the State, and promote public self-sufficiency and well-being.
Your Committees note that the creation of the benefits hub proposed by this measure presents an opportunity for the State's administration of human services to shift away from a static government database to a dynamic referral network of community-based organizations, education opportunities, and employers; replace manual reporting with automated data solutions to verify community engagement hours; and capitalize on advances in data technology to make referrals, track outcomes and service gaps, and measure the actual return on investment of social service interventions. Your Committees also acknowledge the recommendation in the testimony of the Department of Human Services and Office of Enterprise Technology Services to establish a working group to plan for a phased implementation of the proposed benefits hub, instead of launching the benefits hub right away, which would better ensure the achievement of the purpose and intent of this measure. Amendments to this measure are therefore necessary to address these opportunities and recommendation.
Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Deleting sections 2 through 5, that would have:
(A) Added a new section to part VII of chapter 27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that would have established within the Office of Enterprise Technology Services a Hawaii Benefits Hub and related referral, tracking, compliance, and coordination systems; and
(B) Appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $4,250,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the establishment of the Hawaii Benefits Hub, to be expended by the Office of Enterprise Technology Services; and
(2) Inserting language establishing a Hawaii Benefits Hub Working Group to develop a plan for the governance and implementation of the Hawaii Benefits Hub and related referral, tracking, compliance, and coordination systems including:
(A) A governance structure for implementation and management of the Hawaii Benefits Hub;
(B) The necessary funding and timeline for integrating key social assistance online services;
(C) The necessary funding and timeline for implementing the Hawaii Benefits Hub and related referral, tracking, compliance, and coordination services;
(3) Inserting language requiring the Hawaii Benefits Hub Working Group to submit an interim report to the Legislature before the Regular Session of 2027, and a final report to the Legislature before the Regular Session of 2028;
(4) Inserting language dissolving the Hawaii Benefits Hub Working Group on June 30, 2028;
(5) Changing
the appropriation amount from $1,050,000 to an unspecified amount and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) permanent
Project Managers to be hired from one (1.0 FTE) to
an unspecified number to encourage
further discussion on the measure;
(6) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and
(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
Your Committees note that, this measure, as amended, contains an unspecified appropriation amount and unspecified full-time equivalent (FTE) position number. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committees respectfully request that it consider inserting an appropriation amount of $1,050,000 for the procurement of a consultant to coordinate the Hawaii Benefits Hub Working Group, hiring of one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent Project Manager, and any necessary administrative expenses of the Hawaii Benefits Hub Working Group.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Government Operations and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2114, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2114, 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 Committees on Government Operations and Health and Human Services,
|
________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
|
________________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair |
|
|
|
|