HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.149           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

SUPPORTING THE USE OF INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS.



 1       WHEREAS, economic well-being is not determined solely by
 2   levels of income, spending, and consumption, but is also based
 3   upon levels of savings, investments, and the accumulation of
 4   capital; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, the accumulation of assets can improve economic
 7   stability, provide a viable and hopeful future, stimulate the
 8   development of human capital, and enhance the welfare of
 9   children; and
10   
11       WHEREAS, fully half of all Americans have insufficient
12   savings to finance the accumulation of assets through home
13   ownership, business ownership, or higher education; and 
14   
15       WHEREAS, the household savings rate in the United States
16   lags far behind other industrial nations, presenting a
17   significant barrier to economic growth; and
18   
19       WHEREAS, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are
20   optional, interest-bearing, subsidized, tax-benefitted accounts
21   designed to:
22   
23       (1)  Provide individuals and families, especially those
24            with limited financial means, an opportunity to
25            accumulate assets;
26   
27       (2)  Facilitate and mobilize savings;
28   
29       (3)  Promote post-secondary education, vocational training,
30            home-ownership, and microenterprise development;
31   
32       (4)  Stabilize families; and 
33   
34       (5)  Build communities; 
35   
36   and

 
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                                  H.R. NO.149           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, IDAs promote higher rates of household savings and
 2   net private investment; and
 3   
 4       WHEREAS, there is evidence that the financial returns of
 5   IDAs, including increased income and tax revenue and decreased
 6   welfare assistance, will far exceed the cost of investment; and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, members of Hawaii's private sector, non-profit
 9   organizations, and government recognize that IDAs are among the
10   most promising anti-poverty initiatives to emerge in the last
11   few decades; and
12   
13       WHEREAS, through a partnership between The Waimanalo
14   Community Development Corporation and the Housing and Community
15   Development Corporation of Hawaii, up to 34 families living in
16   public housing will be able to purchase their newly
17   reconstructed homes with money saved in IDAs; and
18   
19       WHEREAS, Parents and Children Together, a nonprofit
20   community development and family service agency, in partnership
21   with Bank of Hawaii, the City and County of Honolulu, and the
22   Office of Hawaiian Affairs, operate a nationally-recognized IDA
23   program on Oahu focusing on saving for starting up businesses;
24   and
25   
26       WHEREAS, in an effort to expand awareness of IDAs as a
27   strategy for economic development and welfare reform in Hawaii,
28   the following organizations have joined to form the Hawaii
29   Individual Development Account Collaborative (HIDAC):  Parents
30   and Children Together (PACT), The Waimanalo Community
31   Development Corporation, Maui Economic Opportunity, The Mutual
32   Housing Association of Hawaii, the Consuelo Zobel Alger
33   Foundation, Bank of Hawaii, Nanakuli Neighborhood Housing
34   Services, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Hawaii Community
35   Loan Fund, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, American Friends
36   Service Committee, the City and County of Honolulu's Department
37   of Community Services WorkHawaii Program, and the Mayor's
38   Office of Economic Development; and
39   
40       WHEREAS, on October 27, 1998, President Clinton signed into
41   law the Assets for Independence Act, which authorizes the U.S.
42   Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a five-year,
43   $25,000,000 IDA demonstration project that would fund non-
44   profit organizations and state and local governments on a
45   competitive basis, to establish local IDA programs for first-
46   home purchases, post-secondary education, and microenterprise
47   development; now, therefore,

 
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                                  H.R. NO.149           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
 2   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
 3   of 1999, that the Legislature recognizes and supports IDAs as
 4   effective and important mechanisms for asset building that
 5   should be used to complement existing income-based social
 6   policy in Hawaii; and
 7   
 8       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests the
 9   Department of Human Services, the Housing and Community
10   Development Corporation of Hawaii, and the Department of
11   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to collaborate with
12   IDA practitioners and support organizations to assist in the
13   development of IDAs in Hawaii and ensure that IDA accounts,
14   including any earned interest, will be disregarded in the
15   determination of benefits or eligibility for services that
16   account holders may receive from state agencies; and
17   
18       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
19   Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Services,
20   the Executive Director of the Housing and Community Development
21   Corporation of Hawaii, and the Director of Business, Economic
22   Development, and Tourism.
23 
24 
25 
26                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________