STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2383

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2090

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Housing and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 2090 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Human Services to support the continued implementation of the State's Housing First program and expansion of the program outside of Oahu to assist residents who are chronically homeless.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Coordinator on Homelessness under the Office of the Governor, Department of Human Services, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, Mental Health America of Hawai‘i, The CHOW Project, Hawaii Children's Action Network, PHOCUSED, and three individuals.

     Your Committees find that the Housing First program is a collaborative effort between the Department of Human Services and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development that provides housing and support services for chronically homeless individuals, including those who have an addiction or mental illness, or both.  Housing First is a nationally recognized best practice and has been proven to be an effective approach to helping people experiencing chronic homelessness get off of the streets in several cities such as Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado; Quincy, Massachusetts; and Portland, Maine.  Currently, the Housing First program only serves the island of Oahu, despite the needs of individuals on the neighbor islands.  This measure ensures that all individuals in the State who are chronically homeless are served.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2090 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Judiciary and Labor,

________________________________ GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair

________________________________ BREENE HARIMOTO, Chair