STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1750

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.C.R. No. 20

      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 Human Services & Housing, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 20 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE COMMITTEES ON HUMAN SERVICES OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO CONVENE ONE OR MORE TASK FORCES DURING THE INTERIM TO FURTHER STUDY AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE FAMILY COURT MODELS COMMITTEE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request the Senate and House of Representatives committees with jurisdiction over human services to convene one or more task forces to further study and make recommendations regarding the issues identified by the Family Court Models Committee.

     The Hawaii Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and Children's Rights Council of Hawaii supported this concurrent resolution in its original form.  The Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline opposed the original measure.

     Your Committee subsequently made a proposed draft available to the public that requested the Department of Taxation (DOTAX) with the Department of Human Services (DHS) and Department of Health (DOH) to study the possibility of providing a general excise tax exemption to the Adult Foster Homes of Hawaii and members of the Coalition of Care Home Administrators.

     The Hawaii Coalition of Care Home Administrators and Adult Foster Home Association of Hawaii supported the proposed draft of this concurrent resolution.

     During the hearing on the proposed draft, your Committee circulated a second proposed draft that expanded on the first proposed draft by requesting DOTAX, with cooperation for DOH and DHS, to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of providing a tax exemption to adult foster homes and care homes.

     Your Committee has amended this concurrent resolution by adopting the second proposed draft and adding the President of the Adult Foster Home Association of Hawaii as a recipient of a certified copy of the concurrent resolution.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services & Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 20, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Judiciary in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 20, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services & Housing,

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Acting Chair and Vice Chair