STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2409

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2206

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2206 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to seek to address homelessness by authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds and appropriating funds for capital improvement projects to create more affordable housing consistent with the purposes of the rental housing revolving fund.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness, Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Partners in Care, Hawaii Kai Homeless Task Force, and Catholic Charities Hawai‘i.

Your Committee finds that according to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, on a single night in January 2018, California and Hawaii had the highest rates of homelessness among all individuals, with fifty-nine and fifty-eight out of every ten thousand individuals, respectively, experiencing homelessness. Your Committee further finds that in 2017, Hawaii's homelessness rate went down for the first time in eight years. In 2018, the Legislature made unprecedented levels of investment in low-income housing and homelessness solutions, appropriating $200,000,000 for the rental housing revolving fund, $30,000,000 for the ohana zones pilot program, and $13,500,000 for other homelessness programs. Your Committee further finds that investments of this scale must be made consistently in the coming years. This measure will further this goal by authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds in order to fund the rental housing revolving fund.

Therefore, your Committee has amended this measure by depositing the funds appropriated by the general obligation bonds into the rental housing revolving fund. Your Committee notes that the Governor's Coordinator on Homelessness supports setting aside a portion of funding to develop housing units prioritized for individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2206, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2206, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

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STANLEY CHANG, Chair