STAND. COM. REP. NO.  452-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

RE:   H.B. No. 755

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 755, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC HOUSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to streamline the public housing eviction process by conforming procedural requirements to federal law.  Specifically, this measure, among other things:

     (1)  Changes the notification and eviction hearings process for tenants who face eviction; and

     (2)  Requires eviction hearings to be conducted by hearings officers rather than an eviction board.

The Hawaii Public Housing Authority and one individual provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Retaining hearings by an eviction board and deleting references to hearings officers;

     (2)  Reconfiguring the potential size of the eviction board from a minimum of three members to a maximum of three members;

     (3)  Requiring that at least one tenant be appointed as a member of the evictions board;

     (4)  Changing the effective date to January 7, 2059, to facilitate continued discussion of this measure; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 755, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 755, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

GILBERT KEITH-AGARAN, Chair