STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2843

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2984

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2984, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISASTER LOANS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to improve the ability of the disaster loan program to make funds available for disaster relief and rehabilitation through personal and commercial loans following a disaster.

     Specifically, this measure:

(1)  Makes changes to the State's disaster loan program to conform to the United States Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Program;

     (2)  Allows for the remediation of damaged property;

     (3)  Sets loan application deadlines;

(4)  Increases the loan ceiling for individuals and businesses to $50,000 and $100,000, respectively;

(5)  Sets the loan interest rate at one per cent below the Small Business Administration's interest rate; and

(6)  Deletes provisions for the transfer of funds from other state loan programs that are no longer funded.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Civil Defense division of the Department of Defense.

     Your Committee finds that it is important for the disaster loan program to provide loans to businesses and individuals as quickly as possible following a disaster. 

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by providing the director more flexibility on establishing loan application deadlines and criteria for waiving deadlines in consideration of exigent circumstances and by making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     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 S.B. No. 2984, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2984, S.D. 2.

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

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair