STAND. COM. REP. NO. 132

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1199

       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 Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1199 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to provide a tax credit to caregivers who care for qualified care recipients.

     The Hawaii Aging Advocates Coalition provided testimony in support of the intent of this measure.  The Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 submitted testimony in support of this measure.  The Department of Taxation provided comments.

     As one testifier noted, home and community-based care is increasingly the preferred method of providing long-term care to care recipients, as it avoids institutionalization and enables care recipients to remain in their homes and communities.  However, caregivers are often family members who must forego employment and experience other financial sacrifices to care for their loved ones.  Your Committee finds that a tax credit to caregivers who care for qualified care recipients will help defray some of the cost of providing this invaluable service.

     It is the Committee's intent to help ease the financial burden on caregivers who care for qualified care recipients.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     The Department of Taxation testified that, since the tax credit base has been left unspecified in the measure, it was unable to determine the fiscal impact of the tax credit.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1199, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1199, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Economic Development and Taxation.

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

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair