STAND. COM. REP. NO. 164

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1204

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1204 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERANS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to give Hawaii National Guard members who served at least ninety days in Afghanistan or Iraq priority to any housing developed pursuant to chapter 201G by the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii.

The Office of Veterans' Services and the Chamber of Commerce submitted testimony in support of this bill. The Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii submitted testimony indicating that the bill was not necessary because veterans were already afforded a preference in housing. However, the Committee pointed out that the preference for veterans is secondary to other preference groups. Furthermore, with seventeen thousand applications currently on the waiting list as of June 2004, veterans will not receive timely housing opportunities.

Your Committee has amended this bill to clarify that it shall apply to all housing developed pursuant to chapter 201G, including but not limited to federal low income housing, state low income housing, and other housing development programs, notwithstanding other established selection criteria.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1204, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1204, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Housing.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs,

 

____________________________

KEN ITO, Chair