Establishes a resident advisory board. Allows two people who reside in federal low rent public housing or Tenant-Based Section 8 Housing assisted by the corporation to serve on the HCDCH Board to comply with federal law.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to comply with the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA), P.L. 105-276, 112 Stat. 2461, by establishing a duly formed resident advisory board. In addition, this Act will add two additional public members to the housing and community development corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH) board of directors. To comply with QHWRA's requirement that tenants have representation on the board, two public members of the HCDCH board of directors shall be residents who are directly assisted by the corporation under the programs administered for either public housing or Section 8 rental assistance.

SECTION 2. Chapter 201G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§201G- Resident advisory board; establishment. (a) The corporation shall establish island tenants on the rise as the resident advisory board. The resident advisory board shall:

(b) The resident advisory board shall be composed of twenty-one members. Nineteen members shall be federal and state public housing residents. Two members shall be tenant-based Section 8 recipients. The public housing residents shall include no fewer than two representatives from the county of Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai.

(c) The corporation shall also recognize any other jurisidiction-wide resident council, as defined under federal regulations, that requests to be designated as a resident advisory board.

(d) The members of the resident advisory board shall not be compensated for their services, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses, including travel expenses, per diem at the then current rate for the officers of the corporation, and child care allowances, incurred while engaged in business for the resident advisory board.

§201G- Notice of vacancies; election to the resident advisory board. (a) During each even-numbered year, the corporation shall send notices of vacancies on the resident advisory board to all active resident associations. The notice shall be sent to all public housing managers and posted in a public place. The notice shall allow the active resident association forty-five days to notify the corporation that it is interested in nominating a representative to the resident advisory board.

(b) The corporation shall convene a meeting where each active resident association may vote to elect representatives for the available positions on the resident advisory board. Each active association may send one representative to this meeting. If the association president is not able to attend, the association may designate an individual to participate and vote on their behalf.

(c) In the event the corporation receives fewer nominations than there are vacancies on the resident advisory board, the corporation shall permit any public housing resident to seek a nomination to the resident advisory board; provided they obtain signatures from a majority of the residents residing in the housing project. The signatures must be forwarded to the corporation no later than sixty days after the corporation's announcement of any vacancies on the resident advisory board. In no event shall a community be denied a board seat where the number of vacancies exceed the number of resident advisory board applicants.

§201G- Resident advisory board's nomination of board members for the corporation. (a) The resident advisory board shall recommend to the governor the names of at least three but no more than six individuals who reside in public housing or receive Section 8 assistance to fill each public sector vacancy on the board.

(b) The resident advisory board shall make its recommendations for the nominees to the board at a public meeting. The corporation shall send notice to all active residents no later than twenty-one days prior to the meeting.

(c) The nominees to the board shall be:

The nominee does not have to be a member of the resident advisory board."

SECTION 3. Section 201G-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

"Active resident association" means an association of low rent public housing residents in a state or federal project assisted by the corporation, that has held elections according to its by-laws and that has held no fewer than four association meetings in the preceding twelve months. This meeting requirement shall not apply where the election occurred within six months of the corporation notice of vacancies for resident advisory board members as set forth in section 201G- ."

"Public housing resident" means any person:

(1) Is eighteen years or older; and

(2) Whose name appears on the lease agreement.

"Tenant-based Section 8 recipient" means any recipient of tenant-based housing assistance authorized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the corporation."

SECTION 4. Section 201G-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a), (b), and (c) to read as follows:

"(a) There is created a board consisting of [nine] eleven members, of whom [six] eight shall be public members appointed by the governor as provided in section 26-34. Public members shall be appointed from each of the counties of Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. One public member shall be the chairperson of the rental housing trust fund advisory commission. Two public members shall reside in federal low rent public housing or federal Section 8 tenant-based housing assisted by the corporation. The public members of the board shall serve four year staggered terms[; provided that the initial appointments shall be as follows; two members to be appointed for four years; two members to be appointed for three years; and one member to be appointed for two years.] The chairperson of the rental housing trust fund advisory commission shall serve a concurrent term on the board. The director of business, economic development, and tourism and the director of human services, or their designated representatives, and a representative of the governor's office, shall be ex officio voting members. The corporation shall be headed by the board.

(b) The board of directors shall select a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its members. The director of business, economic development, and tourism [or], the director of human services, and the representative of the governor's office shall be ineligible to serve as chairperson of the board."

(c) [Five,] Six members shall constitute a quorum, whose affirmative vote shall be necessary for all actions by the corporation. The members shall receive no compensation for services, but shall be entitled to necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in performance of their duties."

SECTION 5. The two new public members appointed pursuant to this Act shall serve four-year terms. All future appointments to the board shall maintain staggered terms.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.