STAND. COM. REP. NO.441

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1421

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1421 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EARNED INCOME DEDUCTION FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RENT CALCULATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH) to provide tenants a twenty-five per cent earned income deduction when determining annual adjusted income for rent calculation purposes.

The Pacific and Asian American Center for Theology and Strategies, Island Tenants on the Rise, HCDCH/Resident Advisory Board, American Friends Service Committee, and two individuals testified in support of this measure. The HCDCH opposed the measure.

Proponents of this measure argue that the current method of calculating public housing rent penalizes the working poor who are generally employed in low-wage jobs and who are unable to afford rents that constitute almost half of their take-home pay. The HCDCH testified that tenants are already entitled to income deductions and an earned income disregard that serve as strong incentives for tenants to become self-sufficient.

Your Committee received conflicting testimony as to whether the proposed deduction would be in addition to or lieu of existing income disregards, to what extent tenants are currently taking advantage of allowable income deductions, and whether public housing rents are reasonable or unaffordable. These discrepancies in information underscore the complexity of these issues and justify their further consideration. Therefore, in order to facilitate further discussion, your Committee has amended this measure by inserting therein an effective date of July 1, 2050. Your Committee also made a technical amendment for clarification.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1421, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1421, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing,

____________________________

RON MENOR, Chair