Report Title:

Expand Kupuna Care Program; General Excise Tax

 

Description:

Creates home and community elder support fund to be administered by executive office on aging. Requires tax director to deposit GET revenues from sale of prescription drugs to the fund. Allows EOA to hire a fiscal officer to administer fund and to be paid from the fund.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

754

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to long-term care.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that in July 1999, the executive office on aging launched a statewide long-term care program called the kupuna care program that provides in-home and community-based services to elders. The purpose of this Act is to expand the existing kupuna care program.

SECTION 2. Chapter 349, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§349-    Home and community elder support fund; established; purposes; funding; fiscal officer. (a) There is created the home and community elder support fund in the state treasury to be administered by the executive office on aging. The fund shall be used to:

(1) Expand the existing kupuna care program of the executive office on aging to greater numbers of elders;

(2) Provide elder-wellness and maintenance services to elders who do not yet qualify for kupuna care by meeting the activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living requirements;

(3) Provide support for caregivers of kupuna care participants;

(4) Foster the capacity of non-governmental agencies to deliver community-based home services designed to maintain the physical and financial independence of elders and prevent or delay institutionalization; and

(5) Pay the salary of a fiscal officer to administer the fund.

(b) The fund shall be funded annually from revenues generated by the general excise tax collected on the sale of prescription drugs in the State.

(c) The director of the executive office on aging may hire a fiscal officer exempt from chapters 76 and 89 to administer the fund and to be paid from moneys from the fund."

SECTION 3. Section 237-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§237-31 Remittances. All remittances of taxes imposed by this chapter shall be made by money, bank draft, check, cashier's check, money order, or certificate of deposit to the office of the department of taxation to which the return was transmitted. The department shall issue its receipts therefor to the taxpayer and shall pay the moneys into the state treasury as a state realization, to be kept and accounted for as provided by law; provided that:

(1) The sum from all general excise tax revenues realized by the State that represents the difference between $45,000,000 and the proceeds from the sale of any general obligation bonds authorized for that fiscal year for the purposes of the state educational facilities improvement special fund shall be deposited in the state treasury in each fiscal year to the credit of the state educational facilities improvement special fund;

(2) A sum, not to exceed $5,000,000, from all general excise tax revenues realized by the State shall be deposited in the state treasury in each fiscal year to the credit of the compound interest bond reserve fund; [and]

(3) A sum, not to exceed the amount necessary to meet the obligations of the integrated tax information management systems performance-based contract may be retained and deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the integrated tax information management systems special fund. The sum retained by the director of taxation for deposit to the integrated tax information [[]management[]] systems special fund for each fiscal year shall be limited to amounts appropriated by the legislature. This paragraph shall be repealed on July 1, 2004[.]; and

(4) The director of taxation, at the end of each taxable year, shall calculate the amount of general excise tax revenues generated in the State by the sale of prescription drugs. A sum equal to this annually calculated amount of revenues realized by the State shall be deposited in the home and community elder support fund created under section 349-   ."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act, upon its approval, shall take effect for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2000.

INTRODUCED BY:

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