STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1450

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1007

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1007 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to assist households that receive low-income housing assistance to achieve homeownership.

     The bill promotes this goal by exempting households' family self-sufficiency escrow accounts from asset tests used to determine eligibility for public benefit programs administered by the Department of Human Services.

     Your Committee received comments in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services and the Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development.

     Your Committee finds that the requirement for the Department of Human Services to disregard moneys within an escrow account established under the family self-sufficiency program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development when determining eligibility for assistance or other benefits will assist low-income households with down payments on their own homes.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1007, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair