THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	146
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

requesting the department of business, ECONOMIC development, and tourism; executive office of aging; and county of hawaii office of aging to conduct a study on the necessity and feasibility of a senior living center in the ka‘Ū district.

WHEREAS, Hawai‘i's aging population is projected to continue to increase; and

WHEREAS, seventeen percent of Hawai‘i's existing population consists of seniors, sixty-five years of age and older; and

WHEREAS, a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Hawai‘i has the highest life expectancy in the United States for those over sixty-five years of age; and

WHEREAS, for purposes of this study, data from the 2020 Decennial Census provides the most recent and accurate information; and

WHEREAS, according to the American Community Survey 2019 five-year estimates, the district of Ka‘ū supports a population of 9,885 individuals, of which 2,519 or 25.5 percent were sixty years of age or older; and

WHEREAS, seventeen percent of Ka‘ū's elderly population live below the poverty level; and

WHEREAS, the County of Hawai‘i Office of Aging is responsible for assessing the needs of the county's older adult population and determining the kinds and amounts of services required to meet those needs; and

WHEREAS, the County of Hawai‘i Office of Aging serves approximately two hundred forty-eight individuals, or twenty-five percent of the elderly population in Ka‘ū through its home and community-based service programs, which aim to assist elderly adults in remaining active and independent; and

WHEREAS, the Executive Office on Aging, as well as the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, are well-positioned to coordinate with the County of Hawai‘i Office of Aging to conduct a comprehensive study to identify the need for improved services for the elderly population residing in the Ka‘ū district, Hawai‘i island; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Executive Office on Aging, in coordination and cooperation with the County of Hawai‘i Office of Aging, is requested to conduct a study regarding the necessity and feasibility of a senior living center to support the population of the Ka‘ū district and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature and the County of Hawai‘i Office of the Mayor no later than January 1, 2023; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Director of the Executive Office on Aging; and Administrator of the County of Hawai‘i Office of Aging.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Kau Senior Living Center; County of Hawaii; Office of Aging