REPORT TITLE:
State Owned Public Housing


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes a resident advisory board to advise HCDCH on public
housing.  Allows a person who resides in federal low-rent public
housing or tenant-based section 8 housing assisted by the
corporation to serve on the HCDCH Board.  Allows a person who
resides in state low rent public housing assisted by HCDCH to
serve on the HCDCH Board.  (SB2576 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2576
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO STATE OWNED PUBLIC HOUSING.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to comply with the
 
 2 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, P.L. 105-
 
 3 276, 112 Stat. 2461, (QHWRA) by establishing a resident advisory
 
 4 board, which shall be responsible for:
 
 5      (1)  Advising the housing and community development
 
 6           corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH) in matters relating to
 
 7           the planning and administration of housing programs; 
 
 8      (2)  Complying with QWHRA requirements; and
 
 9      (3)  Recommending two public members for the HCDCH board to
 
10           the governor. 
 
11      In addition, this Act adds two additional public members to
 
12 the HCDCH board.  To comply with QHWRA and to ensure tenant
 
13 representation on the board, one public member shall be a
 
14 resident who is directly assisted by HCDCH under the federal low
 
15 rent public housing program or the tenant-based Section 8 housing
 
16 assistance payments program.  The other public member shall be a
 
17 person who resides in state low rent public housing assisted by
 
18 HCDCH.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 2.  Chapter 201G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by adding three new sections to be appropriately
 
 3 designated and to read as follows:
 
 4      "§201G-    Resident advisory board; establishment.  (a) The
 
 5 corporation may establish a resident advisory board that shall be
 
 6 responsible for:
 
 7      (1)  Advising the corporation in matters relating to the
 
 8           planning and administration of housing programs;
 
 9      (2)  Complying with the Quality Housing and Work
 
10           Responsibility Act of 1998; and
 
11      (3)  Recommending two public members for the board to the
 
12           governor.
 
13      (b)  The resident advisory board shall be composed of
 
14 twenty-one members.  Nineteen members shall be federal and state
 
15 public housing residents.  Two members shall be tenant-based
 
16 Section 8 recipients.  The public housing residents shall include
 
17 not fewer than two representatives from each of the counties of
 
18 Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai.
 
19      (c)  The corporation shall also recognize any jurisdiction-
 
20 wide resident council, as defined under federal law, that
 
21 requests to be designated as a resident advisory board.
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 1      (d)  The members of the resident advisory board shall not be
 
 2 compensated for their services but shall be reimbursed for
 
 3 necessary expenses, including travel expenses, per diem, and
 
 4 child care allowances, incurred while engaged in business for the
 
 5 resident advisory board.  
 
 6      (e)  The corporation may adopt rules in accordance with
 
 7 chapter 91 with respect to the establishment of the resident
 
 8 advisory board including but not limited to rules concerning the
 
 9 composition, eligibility, selection, and terms of members.  This
 
10 section shall not apply if it conflicts with any federal law.
 
11      §201G-    Notice of vacancies; election to resident advisory
 
12 board.  (a) During each odd-numbered year, the corporation shall
 
13 send notices of vacancies on the resident advisory board to all
 
14 active resident associations.  The notice shall be sent to all
 
15 public housing managers and posted in a public place.  The notice
 
16 shall allow the active resident association at least thirty days
 
17 to notify the corporation that it is interested in nominating a
 
18 representative to the resident advisory board.
 
19      (b)  The corporation shall convene a meeting at which time
 
20 each active resident association may vote to elect
 
21 representatives for the available positions on the resident
 
22 advisory board.  Each representative of the active resident
 
23 association may designate an individual who may participate and
 
24 vote in their absence.
 

 
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 1      (c)  In the event that the corporation receives fewer
 
 2 nominations than there are vacancies on the resident advisory
 
 3 board, any public housing resident, residing in a project without
 
 4 an active resident association, may seek nomination to the
 
 5 resident advisory board if the resident is able to obtain
 
 6 signatures from a majority of the residents residing in the
 
 7 resident's housing project.  The signatures shall be collected
 
 8 and received by the corporation no later than thirty days after
 
 9 the corporation's deadline for notice specified in subsection
 
10 (a).
 
11      §201G-     Resident advisory board nomination of board
 
12 member. (a)  The resident advisory board shall recommend to the
 
13 governor the names of two individuals who reside in public
 
14 housing before the governor fills any vacancy for board positions
 
15 that require that the public member reside in state or federal
 
16 public housing. 
 
17      (b)  The resident advisory board shall make its
 
18 recommendation for the nominee to the board at a public meeting.
 
19 The corporation shall send notice of the meeting, at least
 
20 twenty-one days prior to the public meeting, to all active
 
21 resident associations.
 
22      (c)  The nominee to the board shall be:
 

 
 
 
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 1      (1)  A resident of state or federal low rent housing
 
 2           assisted by the corporation and need not be a member of
 
 3           the resident advisory board;
 
 4      (2)  At least eighteen years of age; and
 
 5      (3)  A signatory on the housing lease agreement."
 
 6      SECTION 3.  Section 201G-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes is
 
 7 amended by adding three new definitions to be appropriately
 
 8 inserted and to read as follows:
 
 9      ""Active resident association" means an association of low
 
10 rent public housing residents in a state or federal project
 
11 assisted by the corporation, which has held elections according
 
12 to its bylaws and that has held not fewer than four association
 
13 meetings in the preceding twelve months.  This meeting
 
14 requirement shall not apply where the election occurred within
 
15 six months of the corporation's notice of vacancies for resident
 
16 advisory board members as set forth in section 201G-  .
 
17      "Public housing resident" means any person who resides in
 
18 state or federal low rent housing assisted by the corporation, as
 
19 authorized by chapter 201G, who is eighteen years-of-age or
 
20 older, and whose name appears on the lease agreement.
 
21      "Tenant-based Section 8 recipient" means any recipient of
 
22 tenant-based housing assistance authorized by the United States
 
23 Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by
 
24 the corporation."
 

 
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 1      SECTION 4.  Section 201G-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended as follows:
 
 3      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
 4      "(a)  There is created a board consisting of [nine] eleven
 
 5 members, of whom [six] eight shall be public members appointed by
 
 6 the governor as provided in section 26-34.  Public members shall
 
 7 be appointed from each of the counties of Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui,
 
 8 and Kauai.  One public member shall be the chairperson of the
 
 9 rental housing trust fund advisory commission.  One public member
 
10 shall reside in federal low rent public housing or federal
 
11 section 8 tenant-based housing assisted by the corporation.  One
 
12 public member shall reside in state low rent public housing
 
13 assisted by the corporation.  The public members of the board
 
14 shall serve four-year staggered terms; provided that the initial
 
15 appointments shall be as follows:  [two]
 
16      (1)  Two members to be appointed for four years; [two]
 
17      (2)  Two members to be appointed for three years; and [one]
 
18      (3)  One member to be appointed for two years.
 
19 The chairperson of the rental housing trust fund advisory
 
20 commission shall serve a concurrent term on the board.  The
 
21 director of business, economic development, and tourism and the
 
22 director of human services, or their designated representatives,
 

 
 
 
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 1 and a representative of the governor's office, shall be ex
 
 2 officio voting members.  The corporation shall be headed by the
 
 3 board."
 
 4      2.  By amending subsection (c) to read:
 
 5      "(c)  [Five] Six members shall constitute a quorum, whose
 
 6 affirmative vote shall be necessary for all actions by the
 
 7 corporation.  The members shall receive no compensation for
 
 8 services, but shall be entitled to necessary expenses, including
 
 9 travel expenses, incurred in the performance of their duties."
 
10      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
11 New statutory material is underscored.
 
12      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.