STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3199

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2753

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 2753, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish and appropriate funds for the Ohana Zone Pilot program to provide basic needs such as shelter, bathrooms, showers and offer wrap-around services, social health care services with the goals to alleviate intergenerational poverty and transition homeless individuals into affordable housing; and

(2) Establish performance measures and report to the legislature on the updated progress and evaluation of performance measures.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor, County of Hawaii; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; The Queen's Health Systems; IMUAlliance; Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i; Hawaii Kai Homeless Task Force; and forty-three individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from thirty individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness, Department of Human Services, Department of Land and Natural Resources, and Catholic Charities Hawaii.

Your Committees find that homelessness is a complex issue as individuals experiencing homelessness face a myriad of issues such as loss of employment and lack of income, substance abuse, mental health conditions, and lack of affordable housing. Your Committees further find that while significant strides have been made, current attempts to address homelessness in the State remain insufficient. Your Committees conclude that alternative approaches are necessary to reduce homelessness in the State.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language requiring the construction cost for each dwelling in an ohana zone to be no more than $15,000;

(2) Inserting language requiring at least fifty percent of manufacturing and labor costs of each dwelling in an ohana zone to be purchased in the State;

(3) Inserting language to establish and appropriate funds for a pilot project to convene certain individuals who work in emergency departments in a participating hospital to provide assessments and referrals for wrap-around social services to homeless individuals in an effort to reduce costs associated with the chronic use of emergency departments;

(4) Inserting language to authorize the Department of Human Services to establish a pilot program to provide homeless individuals with assistance to be reunited with family and relatives in that individual's state and appropriate funds for the program;

(5) Inserting language to establish and appropriate funds for a pre-arrest diversion pilot project for individuals with mental health or substance abuse challenges;

(6) Inserting language to establish and appropriate funds to continue the coordinated statewide homeless initiative to prevent homelessness and rehouse homeless individuals;

(7) Inserting language to establish and appropriate funds for a pilot project to provide shelter and mental health treatment for homeless individuals with severe mental illness who are subject to an assisted community treatment order or court ordered guardianship to take effect upon approval of the Department of the Attorney General;

(8) Inserting an appropriation of an unspecified amount for the Department of Human Services to fund various projects to plan and construct housing for various vulnerable homeless populations and exempting the Department from rulemaking pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for the planning and construction of housing for those vulnerable homeless populations; and

(9) 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. 2753, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2753, H.D. 1, 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