STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3022

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 3400

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 3400, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC ASSISTANCE,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Human Services to amend its administrative rules to add legal guardians to the definition of a specified relative for purposes of determining eligibility for assistance programs.

 

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Human Services.

 

     Your Committee finds that currently, a family that takes a non-relative child into its household to keep the child out of the child welfare system, but suffers financial hardship because of it, is ineligible to apply for public assistance to help support that child.  This measure would allow these non-relative guardians who prevent children from becoming wards of the State to receive public assistance on behalf of the child.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2008.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 3400, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 3400, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair