STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1087

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1098

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1098, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELESS SHELTERS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Provide that emergency shelters may have partitioned space for homeless persons or families based on Department of Human Services guidelines;

     (2)  Delay the emergency or transitional shelter compliance requirements per Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, for contracts between the Department and emergency or transitional shelter provider agencies for one year; and

     (3)  Delay the effective date of Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, by one year.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness, Department of Human Services, Office of the Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, The Institute for Human Services, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, and one individual.

     Your Committees find that in an attempt to make the homeless shelter system more cost effective and more appealing to families and individuals, the Legislature enacted Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, to establish minimum requirements for every homeless emergency shelter operated by a provider agency that is under contract with the Department of Human Services.  However, there is wide variation in the configuration of homeless emergency shelters across the State.  To ensure that the minimum health and safety standards adopted by the Department of Human Services provide sufficient flexibility to address these diverse needs, the Department needs additional time to meet with shelter providers and discuss the ability to bring shelter space into compliance with emergency shelter requirements.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that the delay of the effective date of Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, to July 1, 2018, does not apply to subsection (c) of section 6 of Act 234, which requires the Department of Human Services to work with provider agencies to implement Act 234 and took effect on July 1, 2016;

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2017; and

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

     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 H.B. No. 1098, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1098, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Housing,

________________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair

________________________________ JOSH GREEN, Chair