STAND. COM. REP. NO.  654-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   H.B. No. 2579

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Human Services & Housing and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2579 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CARE HOME REPAIR AND RENOVATION LOAN GUARANTEE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to improve the availability of safe adult residential care homes and long-term care facilities in Hawaii.

     Specifically, the measure creates the adult residential care home and long-term care facility repair and renovation loan guarantee revolving fund and establishes a repair and renovation loan guarantee program to be administratively placed within the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Administration.  The program would guarantee loans to an owner of an adult residential care home or long-term care facility whose plans to repair and renovate the care home or facility have been approved by the Director of Health as meeting the licensing standards of the Department of Health.  In addition, the measure appropriates funds for loan guarantees.

     Testimony in opposition to this measure was received from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Department of Health.

     Your Committees find that people who own adult residential care homes and long-term care facilities have high operating costs and low profit margins.  Consequently, they are often unable to make improvements that would provide better services and safer, more up-to-date facilities.  This measure will assist in financing the repair and renovation of these facilities to enable the owners to provide enhanced services in improved settings.  Your Committees request that the concerns raised by the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services be taken into consideration by the legislative committees to which the bill is referred as the bill moves through the legislative process.

     Upon consideration, your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Transferring administrative placement of the repair and renovation loan guarantee program to the Department of Human Services;

     (2)  Changing the name of the program and the revolving fund to the home and community based services care home and long-term care home facility repair and renovation loan guarantee program and the home and community based services care home and long-term care home facility repair and renovation loan guarantee revolving fund, respectively;

     (3)  Adding three new definitions: "home and community based services;" "home and community based services care home"; and "long-term care home facility";

     (4)  Deleting the definitions of "adult residential care home" and "long-term care facility";

     (5)  Amending the title of the new section 321-  , relating to certification of a loan applicant, to correctly reflect the name of the loan guarantee program;

     (6)  Making a technical amendment to correctly identify the fiscal year in which funds are appropriated out of the home and community based services care home and long-term care home facility repair and renovation loan guarantee revolving fund; and

     (7)  Changing the effective date of the measure to July 1, 2050 to facilitate further discussion.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services & Housing and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2579, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2579, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services & Housing and Health,

____________________________ JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair

____________________________ MAILE SHIMABUKURO, Chair