STAND. COM. REP. NO. 898

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 160

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 160, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES AND HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for the Kupuna Care Program.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Aging; Department of Community Services, City and County of Honolulu; Maui County Office on Aging; Lanakila Pacific; Project Dana; AARP Hawaii; Hawai‘i Alliance for Retired Americans; and thirteen individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities; Volunteer Legal Services Hawai‘i; Hawaii Disability Rights Center; Hawaii Family Law Clinic dba Ala Kuola; Easter Seals Hawai‘i; Hawaii Waiver Providers Association; Hawai‘i Primary Care Association; Catholic Charities Hawai‘i; Goodwill Industries of Hawaii, Inc.; Aloha United Way; PHOCUSED (Protecting Hawaii's Ohana, Children, Under Served, Elderly and Disabled); Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs; Waikiki Community Center; Susannah Wesley Community Center; Child & Family Service; About Face Family of Programs; Good Beginnings Alliance; Partners in Development Foundation; Read To Me International Foundation; Read Aloud America, Inc.; Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii Hale Pono Ewa Beach Clubhouse; Honolulu Weed and Seed; GEAR UP Waipahu; Moloka‘i Community Service Council; Hawai‘i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; The Salvation Army Addiction Treatment Services; Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition; Life Foundation; Community Health Outreach Work Project to Prevent AIDS; Hawaii Family Support Institute; Adult Friends for Youth; Hawaii Centers for Independent Living; St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii; Gentry Homes, Ltd.; Haseko Development, Inc.; and three individuals.

     Your Committee finds that the elderly population in Hawaii is increasing rapidly.  The number of persons over age sixty-five is projected to increase by eight-six percent between 2007 and 2030.  Your Committee further finds that approximately 169,000 family caregivers form the backbone of Hawaii's long-term care system, and currently provide over $1,000,000,000 a year in unpaid care.  Financial stability and the burden of providing care are the main issues for the elderly and their caregivers and families, and your Committee recognizes that they need support in the form of respite and other services.

     Your Committee also finds that funding for Kupuna Care services is of vital importance, as these services support the needs of the increasing population of elderly residents in Hawaii.  The appropriation for Kupuna Care in this measure is needed to help maintain the health and welfare of the State's most vulnerable seniors.

     Your Committee additionally finds that the current fiscal situation of the State is threatening Hawaii's safety net of basic health, human services, and education to its most vulnerable citizens.  After considering the testimony received, your Committee believes that the language in S.B. No. 935, S.D. 2, which was heard by and reported from your Committee in an earlier form, better addresses the diminishing resources in the State by maintaining essential services.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an appropriation amount of $3,500,000 for additional funding for the Kupuna Care Program;

     (2)  Creating a new Part II by inserting the contents of S.B. No. 935, S.D. 2, which appropriates monies from the Emergency and Budget Reserve fund to maintain funding levels of programs for public health, safety, welfare, and education services;

     (3)  Inserting various appropriation amounts into the new Part II;

     (4)  Inserting a lapse date of June 30, 2013, for the appropriations made under the new Part II;

     (5)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2011; and

     (6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 160, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 160, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair