Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 128 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide financial assistance to low income renters.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, Department of Human Services, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Health Care for the Homeless Project, American Friends Service Committee, Hawaii Catholic Conference, Catholic Charities Elderly Services, Gregory House Programs, and Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance.

The state rent supplement program provides rent subsidies to low income individuals and families. According to the National Law Center on Poverty and Homelessness, rent subsidies are less expensive and more effective than homeless shelters in preventing homelessness.

Your Committee finds that the state rent supplement program has suffered significant funding reductions over the last few years. As a result, there are almost two thousand people on the program's wait list who wait an average of two to three years to qualify for assistance. This measure will help to restore funding to the program and enable more of Hawaii's low-income individuals and families to meet their basic shelter needs.

Your Committee further finds that for seventy-five per cent of families on welfare, most of their cash assistance goes toward rental expenses, yet, other than persons receiving federal supplemental security income benefits, public assistance recipients are excluded from participating in the state rent supplement program. Therefore, after careful consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 128, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 128, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.