STAND. COM. REP. NO.  244-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 2577

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 2577 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to prohibit smoking anywhere in a public housing project by giving the Hawaii Public Housing Authority the right to terminate any lease, rental agreement, permit, or license and evict tenants for noncompliance.

The Department of Health, Coalition for a Tobacco-free Hawaii, and several concerned individuals supported this bill.  Several concerned individuals opposed this bill.  The Hawaii Public Housing Authority and several concerned individuals provided comments on this bill.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Allowing the Authority to designate one or more areas on the premises where smoking is allowed, so long as these areas are not less than twenty feet from any building or common area;

(2)  Requiring the Authority to adopt rules for the administration of the prohibition on smoking; and

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

     Your Committee respectfully notes that the intent of this measure is not to stop or hinder any rulemaking operations of the Authority currently in progress.

     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. 2577, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2577, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

MARK J. HASHEM, Chair