STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1175-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   S.B. No. 2540

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2540, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to assist low-income and homeless individuals in obtaining affordable rental housing by establishing a rental deposit loan program within the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.

The Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Community Alliance for Mental Health, United Self Help, and a concerned individual testified in support of this measure.  The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; Housing Hawaii, Inc.; EAH Housing of Hawaii; PHOCUSED; and the Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS provided comments on this measure.

     Testimony by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation opposed the designation of the Corporation as the administering agency, because the Corporation has no experience in administering contracts under Chapter 103F, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1)  Establishing the rental deposit loan program within the Department of Human Services instead of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation;

(2)  Requiring a two-party contract between the tenant and the nonprofit organization operating the program in order to participate in the program, instead of a three-party contract between the tenant, the nonprofit organization, and the rental property owner; and

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

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2540, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2540, 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 Housing,

____________________________ MARK J. HASHEM, Chair

____________________________ MELE CARROLL, Chair