STAND. COM. REP. NO.1042

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: H.B. No. 543

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 543 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELESS PROGRAMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to remove the requirement that the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii ensure that a compliance audit by an independent auditing agency is done once each fiscal biennium period.

Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure from the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that since the inception of the Homeless Assistance Act, the State has budgeted approximately $121,000 during each biennium to comply with the audit requirement. The Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii has been advised that for the next funding cycle, the cost to conduct the audit would be approximately $250,000 to $350,000. These funds would be better utilized for actual provision of services for the homeless. Additionally, the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii conducts program audits to ensure that service providers address any non-compliance issues that are identified by the agency's financial audit. These financial and program audits are sufficient for monitoring service providers.

Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing its contents with the contents of S.B. No. 1019, S.D. 1, which are substantively similar, however, S.B. No. 1019, S.D. 1, comports with correct drafting style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 543, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 543, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

____________________________

DAVID MATSUURA, Chair