STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1297-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: S.B. No. 2278

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Housing and Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2278, S.D. 2, entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure to improve teacher recruitment and retention by establishing a teacher home assistance program to provide housing vouchers to certain full-time teachers who teach at hard-to-fill schools, including public charter schools.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association, IMUAlliance, Kamehameha Schools, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and two individuals supported this measure. The League of Women Voters opposed this measure. The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Department of Education, and Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii.

During the public hearing on this measure, some members of your Committees raised concerns about this measure. First, a member noted that this measure appears to benefit new teachers and questioned whether it was prudent to exclude experienced teachers since it would be beneficial to encourage experienced teachers to teach at hard-to-fill schools. Second, the member also raised a concern over the difficulty in enforcing the requirement that the housing voucher be used to pay for the rent or mortgage for the teacher's primary residence and noted that some teachers may use the housing voucher to pay for investment property rather than a primary residence. Third, another member voiced concern that this bill circumvents the collective bargaining process to provide a benefit to a group of teachers that was not bargained for or available to all teachers. Fourth, a member raised concerns that the housing voucher would be taxable income and may negatively impact a teacher's net pay by raising the teacher into a higher income tax bracket.

Your Committees noted the oral testimony of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation that it does not have a process to administer a housing voucher program but that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority currently administers the
Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. Accordingly, if this bill advances in the legislative process, your Committees respectfully request that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority submit testimony on this measure.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Including a requirement that the qualified teachers who apply for the housing voucher commit to teach at a hard-to-fill or public charter school for no less than five years;

(2) Expanding the pool of qualified teachers who may apply for a housing voucher to include full-time and part-time teachers; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2278, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2278, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Education,

____________________________ JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair

____________________________ TOM BROWER, Chair