HSCR846-10

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 846-10

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2010

RE: S.B. No. 2469

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2469, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EMERGENCY AND BUDGET RESERVE FUND,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to help maintain vital social services by appropriating moneys from the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund for services and programs determined to be essential to education and public health and welfare.

The State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Department of Community Services of the City and County of Honolulu, County of Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs, Fifty Plus Lifelong Fitness, Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, Hawaii Alliance for Retired Americans, Waikiki Community Center, Moiliili Community Center for Senior Center Program, National Association of Social Workers Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Easter Seals Hawaii, Child & Family Service, The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Ku Aloha Ola Mau, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Maui Age Wave, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Hina Mauka Recovery Center, Ohana Health Plan, PHOCUSED (Protecting Hawaii's Ohana, Children, Under Served, Elderly and Disabled), National Multiple Sclerosis Society, AARP Hawaii, and numerous concerned individuals testified in support of this bill. The Judiciary, Department of Education, Early Learning Council of the Department of Human Services, and several concerned individuals provided comments.

The Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund (Fund) was created by Act 304, Session Laws of Hawaii, 1999, to serve as a temporary supplemental source of funding for the State during times of emergency, economic downturn, or unforeseen reduction in revenues.

Your Committees find that with a current budget deficit of $1.2 billion through fiscal year 2010, resulting in cuts to programs across all levels of State government, use of the Fund is paramount to maintaining essential services for Hawaii's children and vulnerable populations. Your Committees feel certain that the continued provision of these vital services will prevent the even greater cost to society that may arise in their absence.

As such, this bill appropriates moneys in unspecified amounts for the following:

(1) Respite services;

(2) To supplement the Healthy Start Program;

(3) To provide funding for grants for the following organizations:

(A) Catholic Charities Hawaii;

(B) Kapahulu Center;

(D) Waikiki Community Center;

(4) Kupuna care services;

(5) The Aging and Disability Resource Center;

(6) The Developmental Disabilities Medicaid Waiver Program;

(7) Mental health services;

(8) The Partnerships in Community Living Program;

(9) Direct health care to the uninsured;

(10) For a substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant;

(11) The Healthy Aging Partnerships Program;

(12) The Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center's emergency room services;

(13) HIV/AIDS-related support and services;

(14) The Blueprint for Change Program's Neighborhood Place Walk-in Centers;

(15) The Hawaii Immigrant Health Initiative Program;

(16) The Hawaii Children's Health Care Program;

(17) Domestic violence shelters;

(18) The Hale Mahaolu Adult Program for personal care services;

(19) Disproportionate share hospital costs;

(20) Medicaid provider reimbursements;

(21) Outstationed eligibility worker services;

(22) Outreach services provided by the Department of Human Services;

(23) Outreach services to locate uninsured children;

(24) Outreach services to locate uninsured adults;

(25) Housing placement services;

(26) The Shelter Plus Care Program;

(27) The Oahu Safe House Program;

(28) Adult dental services;

(29) Medicaid;

(30) Child care;

(31) General Assistance;

(32) Domestic violence services;

(33) Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii;

(34) Legal Aid Society of Hawaii;

(35) The Hawaii Family Law Clinic;

(36) Catholic Charities Hawaii;

(37) The Children's Alliance of Hawaii;

(38) The Employment Core Services Program;

(39) The Weed and Seed Program in Ewa Beach;

(40) The Women and Children Sex Abuse Treatment Center operated by Kapiolani Medical Center;

(41) Non-school hours programs;

(42) The Kupuna Care Program;

(43) To restore the General Assistance benefit amount to $450 per month or as close as may be to that amount given the monthly caseload;

(44) To support domestic violence shelters statewide;

(45) For the restoration of adult dental care formerly granted under program ID HMS245; and

(46) Child Care subsidies.

Your Committees also note that homelessness is a significant issue in the state, and that it has only been exacerbated by the current difficult economic situation. Of particular concern is the chronically homeless, which includes homeless individuals who have an addiction or mental illness, or both, and are extremely fragile, with the least likelihood of ever reaching independent living.

Upon further consideration, your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Including an appropriation for the Housing First Pilot Program; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2469, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2469, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair

____________________________

JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair