STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1514

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 928

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

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. 928, H.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to increase homeownership by low- and moderate-income families.

Specifically, this measure appropriates funds to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to expand:

     (1)  The federal section 8 homeownership option program; and

     (2)  The federal housing choice voucher family self-sufficiency program.

The bill also exempts family self-sufficiency escrow accounts from the asset test for public assistance.

     This measure also requires the Department of Human Services to disregard as income or resources any funds deposited into a family self-sufficiency escrow account on behalf of a participant under the federal housing choice voucher family self-sufficiency program as required or allowed under federal law.  This measure also appropriates unspecified amounts in fiscal year 2007-2008 and fiscal year 2008-2009 for the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to:

(1)  Increase outreach to increase enrollment in the section 8 homeownership option and the housing choice voucher family self-sufficiency programs;

(2)  Increase administrative support for both of the programs;

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

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

The effective date of this measure is July 1, 2020.

     Your Committee received comments in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by changing the unspecified appropriation amounts to $1 for purposes of facilitating further discussion.

     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. 928, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 928, H.D. 1, S.D. 1.

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

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair