HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	281
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE fair and EQUAL ACCESS TO PUBLIC HOUSING BY REMOVING PREFERENCES IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

     WHEREAS, in these recessionary times, there is less revenues and resources to provide a safety net for those in need of state assistance to survive; and

     WHEREAS, with the down turn in the economy, many residents are losing their jobs and can no longer afford to pay their rent or mortgage and are in greater need for public supported housing; and

     WHEREAS, the waiting list for public housing consist of 14,000 families and it is taking up to six years to get into public housing that could be the result of the use of these preferences; and

WHEREAS, people are getting smarter by getting themselves registered as "homeless" to bypass the long waiting list for public housing jumping in front of those who have been patiently waiting for years; and

     WHEREAS, the inclusion of certain preferences is creating a loophole for some to jump to the head of the line; and

     WHEREAS, native Hawaiians and other Hawaii residents who may have some friends and family here and living in a house with several families for many years may NOT be classified as homeless; and

     WHEREAS, a newcomer can jump off a plane and then go directly to a homeless shelter for a week to be classified as "homeless" and can jump to the head of the public housing waiting list; and

     WHEREAS, in theory, some preference may sound like a good idea, they are instead counterproductive and producing unintended negative outcomes instead; and

     WHEREAS, in certain cultures, women are expected to be subjected to domestic violence and their men have an incentive to dump them off at homeless shelters with black and blue bruises in order to bolster their chances of getting public housing quickly;

     WHEREAS, the 2006 audit, the Hawaii Public Housing Authority has been rated as a "troubled performance;" and

     WHEREAS, in the 2006 audit recommended that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority should admit tenants who are working poor who could pay the rent and refrain from accepting tenants who have criminal records and bad rental payment histories; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority provide fair and equal access to public housing by removing preferences in the application process; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title: 

Hawaii Public Housing Authority, preferences.