STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2839
Honolulu, Hawaii
H.D. 1
President of the Senate
Twenty-Sixth State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2547, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation for the 2011-2012 fiscal year to address the budget shortfall in the general assistance program (HMS 204) of the Department of Human Services.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, and the Hawaii Disability Rights Center.
Your Committee finds that the general assistance program (HMS 204) is a block grant program that provides a monthly benefit to disabled individuals. The Department of Human Services must adjust general assistance payments to each recipient based on the total number of recipients, which means that as caseloads and general assistance recipients increase, payments per recipient decrease. For the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the payment level began at $353 per month, but due to caseload increases was reduced to $319 per month in October 2011.
Your Committee notes that according to the testimony of the Department of Human Services, based on the latest expenditure figures, the Department will have to further reduce the general assistance payment to $275 per month beginning in April 2012 to remain within the authorized appropriation. Since these reductions and fluctuations provide little stability to households who already live below poverty levels, the Department has requested an emergency appropriation for the 2011-2012 fiscal year to maintain the $319 monthly benefit.
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. 2547, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,
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SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair |
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