STAND. COM. REP. NO.  43

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 1692

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1692 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to break the vicious cycle of poverty and increase the supply of low-income housing by restricting state and federal public housing tenancy, except in certain cases for medical reasons, to no more than five years. 

     Several concerned individuals supported this bill.  The Hawaii Public Housing Authority supported the intent of this measure.  The Community Alliance Partners, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, and American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii opposed this bill. 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1)  Removing federal public housing projects from the application of this bill, pursuant to United States Department of Housing & Urban Development regulations that do not allow a limitation on the number of years that a tenant in good standing may stay in federal public housing; and

(2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for style, clarity, and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1692, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1692, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

____________________________

RIDA CABANILLA, Chair