Report Title:

Public Housing; Maintenance; Repairs; Private Contracting

Description:

Establishes a rapid assessment team for the maintenance, repair, and improvement of public housing units. Authorizes necessary exemptions from procurement and permitting requirements. Appropriates funds for the purposes of the Act.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2903

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO PUBLIC HOUSING.

 

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

SECTION 1. The joint legislative housing and homeless task force, established pursuant to Act 196, Session of Hawaii 2005, has reported that seven hundred fifty federal public housing units and seventy-five state public housing units in Hawaii are vacant, in many instances for substantial periods of time up to six months. The vacant units represent thirteen per cent of the inventory of public housing units in Hawaii. Meanwhile, there are approximately six thousand homeless individuals in Hawaii, and the pent-up demand for affordable rental housing for the low-income and workforce population exceeds twenty thousand units.

A physical needs assessment of all sixty-five federal public housing properties in Hawaii, conducted for the housing and community development corporation of Hawaii in 2003, reported in detail on a number of problems and deficiencies resulting from poor design and deferred maintenance in Hawaii's public housing stock. The cost just to remedy the maintenance deficiencies in these properties was estimated at almost $11,000,000. In part as a result of this assessment, the corporation was designated as a "troubled" public housing agency by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2004, and was required to enter into a memorandum of agreement for the purpose of improving its score in a number of areas.

Although some progress has been made and the corporation has since been discharged from its obligations under the memorandum of agreement, much more remains to be done. Targets still outstanding include developing a strategy for reducing unit preparation time; generating work orders immediately after completion of unit inspections; correcting or abating emergency work orders within twenty-four hours; and increasing unit occupancy to ninety-five per cent in all projects.

A recent internal assessment by corporation staff indicates that nearly five hundred vacant federal units and substantially all of the vacant state units still require modernization or major to minor repairs. The total cost for this work is estimated at $9,600,000.

While government continues to assess the State's long-term needs and available resources, immediate short-term solutions are needed to remedy the high vacancy rates and poor physical condition of the public housing stock. Solutions for immediate relief will require unprecedented levels of cooperation between the State and private entities, and bold yet productive proposals for action.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a public housing rapid assessment team within the Hawaii public housing administration, and to appropriate funds for the expedited maintenance and repair of vacant public housing units within one year of the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 2. There is established a public housing rapid assessment team to be attached to the Hawaii public housing administration for administrative purposes. The rapid assessment team shall:

(1) Consist of       individuals qualified in construction contracting, engineering, and building maintenance and repair who shall rapidly assess the condition of vacant federal and state public housing units administered and managed by the Hawaii public housing administration. The team shall be headed by a project leader appointed by the director of the administration. The individuals shall be chosen by the project leader and shall be employed as three-month contract employees;

(2) Solicit, review, and award bids from licensed contractors to perform the necessary maintenance and repair work as determined by the rapid assessment team, with the approval of the director;

(3) Hire and supervise unlicensed persons and engage and supervise volunteers capable of performing basic repair and maintenance where a licensed contractor is not necessary; and

(4) Oversee and supervise the necessary maintenance and repair work.

SECTION 3. The Hawaii public housing administration shall:

(1) Together with the rapid assessment team, develop a program plan and a budget for the contract and administrative expenses of the maintenance and repair work;

(2) Work with public housing project managers to facilitate site inspections by the rapid assessment team;

(3) Prepare the necessary employment contracts to meet the objectives of the maintenance and repair program on an expedited basis;

(4) Submit review and assessment reports to the governor, the senate president, and the house speaker every sixty days for the duration of the program; and

(5) Undertake all other necessary activities for program development and implementation.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $10,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 for the establishment of a public housing rapid assessment team to be administered by Hawaii public housing administration.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by Hawaii public housing administration for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. Section 46-14.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§46-14.5[]] Land use density; low-income rental units. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the counties are authorized to provide flexibility in land use density provisions to encourage the development of any rental housing project where at least a portion of the rental units are set aside for persons and families with incomes at or below one hundred forty per cent of the area median family income, of which twenty per cent are set aside for persons and families with incomes at or below eighty per cent of the area median family income.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any maintenance and repair work performed in public housing projects pursuant to this Act shall be exempt from any county permit requirements. The rapid assessment team shall perform all repair and maintenance work in conformity with all county building code regulations."

SECTION 6. Section 103D-102, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), this chapter shall not apply to contracts by governmental bodies:

(1) Solicited or entered into before July 1, 1994, unless the parties agree to its application to a contract solicited or entered into prior to July 1, 1994;

(2) To disburse funds, irrespective of their source:

(A) For grants or subsidies as those terms are defined in section 42F-101, made by the State in accordance with standards provided by law as required by article VII, section 4, of the State Constitution; or by the counties pursuant to their respective charters or ordinances;

(B) To make payments to or on behalf of public officers and employees for salaries, fringe benefits, professional fees, or reimbursements;

(C) To satisfy obligations that the State is required to pay by law, including paying fees, permanent settlements, subsidies, or other claims, making refunds, and returning funds held by the State as trustee, custodian, or bailee;

(D) For entitlement programs, including public assistance, unemployment, and workers' compensation programs, established by state or federal law;

(E) For dues and fees of organizations of which the State or its officers and employees are members, including the National Association of Governors, the National Association of State and County Governments, and the Multi-State Tax Commission;

(F) For deposit, investment, or safekeeping, including expenses related to their deposit, investment, or safekeeping;

(G) To governmental bodies of the State;

(H) As loans, under loan programs administered by a governmental body; and

(I) For contracts awarded in accordance with chapter 103F[.];

(3) To procure goods, services, or construction from a governmental body other than the University of Hawaii bookstores, from the federal government, or from another state or its political subdivision;

(4) To procure the following goods or services which are available from multiple sources but for which procurement by competitive means is either not practicable or not advantageous to the State:

(A) Services of expert witnesses for potential and actual litigation of legal matters involving the State, its agencies, and its officers and employees, including administrative quasi-judicial proceedings;

(B) Works of art for museum or public display;

(C) Research and reference materials including books, maps, periodicals, and pamphlets, which are published in print, video, audio, magnetic, or electronic form;

(D) Meats and foodstuffs for the Kalaupapa settlement;

(E) Opponents for athletic contests;

(F) Utility services whose rates or prices are fixed by regulatory processes or agencies;

(G) Performances, including entertainment, speeches, and cultural and artistic presentations;

(H) Goods and services for commercial resale by the State;

(I) Services of printers, rating agencies, support facilities, fiscal and paying agents, and registrars for the issuance and sale of the State's or counties' bonds;

(J) Services of attorneys employed or retained to advise, represent, or provide any other legal service to the State or any of its agencies, on matters arising under laws of another state or foreign country, or in an action brought in another state, federal, or foreign jurisdiction, when substantially all legal services are expected to be performed outside this State;

(K) Financing agreements under chapter 37D; [and]

(L) Any other goods or services which the policy board determines by rules or the chief procurement officer determines in writing is available from multiple sources but for which procurement by competitive means is either not practicable or not advantageous to the State; and

(M) Goods and services for maintenance and repair work for public housing projects under chapter 201G. This provision shall be repealed on December 31, 2007; and

(5) Which are specific procurements expressly exempt from any or all of the requirements of this chapter by:

(A) References in state or federal law to provisions of this chapter or a section of this chapter, or references to a particular requirement of this chapter; and

(B) Trade agreements, including the Uruguay Round General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which require certain non-construction and non-software development procurements by the comptroller to be conducted in accordance with its terms."

SECTION 7. Section 104-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) This chapter shall apply to every contract in excess of $2,000 for construction of a public work project to which a governmental contracting agency is a party; provided that this chapter shall not apply to experimental and demonstration housing developed pursuant to section 46-15, or housing developed pursuant to chapter 201G, including maintenance and repair work on public housing projects if the cost of the project or the work is less than $500,000 and the eligible bidder or eligible developer is a private nonprofit corporation.

For the purposes of this subsection:

"Contract" includes but is not limited to any agreement, purchase order, or voucher in excess of $2,000 for construction of a public work project.

"Governmental contracting agency" includes any person or entity that causes either directly or indirectly the building or development of a public work.

"Party" includes eligible bidders for and eligible developers of any public work and any housing under chapter 201G; provided that this subsection shall not apply to any housing developed under section 46-15 or chapter 201G if the entire cost of the project is less than $500,000 and the eligible bidder or eligible developer is a private nonprofit corporation.

"Public work" means any project, including development of any housing pursuant to section 46-15 or chapter 201G, and development, construction, renovation, and maintenance related to refurbishment of any real or personal property, where the funds or resources required to undertake the project are to any extent derived either directly or indirectly from public revenues of the State or any county, or from the sale of securities or bonds whose interest or dividends are exempt from state or federal taxes."

SECTION 8. Section 201G-133, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§201G-133 Rate of wages for laborers and mechanics. The administration shall require an eligible bidder or eligible developer of a housing project developed under this subpart to comply with the requirements of section 104-2 for those laborers and mechanics hired to work on that housing project; provided that this section shall not apply to:

(1) A housing project developed under this chapter if the entire cost of the project is less than $500,000 and the eligible bidder or eligible developer is a private nonprofit corporation[.]; and

(2) Maintenance and repair work on public housing projects under chapter 201G."

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on July 2, 2006, and shall be repealed on December 31, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:

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