STAND. COM. REP. NO.  899

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 928

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 928 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SOCIAL SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to increase low- and moderate-income families' homeownership by:

(1)  Exempting family self-sufficiency escrow accounts from the asset test for public assistance administered by the Department of Human Services; and

(2)  Appropriating funds to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) to:

(a)  Increase outreach and administrative support for the section 8 homeownership option and the housing choice voucher family self-sufficiency programs;

(b)  Provide matching grants or loan forgiveness to section 8 homeownership option program participants to help with down payments; and

(c)  Provide additional state matches to help housing choice voucher family self-sufficiency program participants to build homeownership savings.

     The Hawaii Alliance for Community-based Economic Development testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Human Services provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1)  Deleting the amendments to the eligibility criteria for medical assistance in section 346-29(d), as the same criteria is already included in eligibility criteria for public assistance, which covers medical assistance;  

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2020, to

          encourage further discussion; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for style,

          clarity, and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 928, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 928, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair