STAND. COM. REP. NO.  496

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

 

RE:   H.B. No. 516

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Human Services and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 516 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO APPROPRIATIONS MADE OUT OF THE EMERGENCY AND BUDGET RESERVE FUND PURSUANT TO ACT 191, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2010,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to amend Act 191, Session Laws of Hawaii 2010, (Act 191) to:

 

(1)  Extend for six months the date on which funds appropriated in Act 191 for education, human services, health, and public welfare in Act 191, Session Laws of Hawaii, will lapse, from July 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011, to provide additional time for these funds to be expended; and

 

(2)  Provide distribution amounts for the appropriation to support domestic violence shelters; and

 

(3)  Make technical amendments.

 

     This bill also makes new appropriations for The Path Clinic and for Hawaii Centers for Independent Living.

 

     The State Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, AARP Hawaii, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Catholic Charities Hawaii, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Education, and Hawaii Medical Service Association supported the intent of this measure.

 

     Following a hearing on H.B. No. 516 and H.B. No. 1061, your Committees have amended H.B. No. 516 by deleting its contents and inserting in its place the contents of H.B. No. 1061.

 

     Pursuant to the requirements set forth in Article VII, Section 9, of the Hawaii State Constitution, the Governor, in his Governor's Message No. 100 to the Legislature, requested immediate consideration and passage of H.B. No. 1061 by the Legislature.

 

     The purpose of H.B. No. 1061 that replaces H.B. No. 516 is to make similar amendments to Act 191, but not the appropriations for The Path Clinic and Hawaii Centers for Independent Living.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of H.B. No. 1061 from the Governor, Executive Office on Aging, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, AARP Hawaii, The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Domestic Violence Action Center, Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Protecting Hawaii's Ohana Children Under Served Elderly and Disabled, and several concerned individuals.  The Judiciary submitted comments.

 

     After being inaugurated into office, Governor Abercrombie released funds appropriated in Act 191, Session Laws of Hawaii 2010, to various health, human services and housing organizations to maintain essential services.  Your Committees acknowledge that, state agencies and nonprofit organizations have encountered technical difficulties in transferring the money to the providers of services.  Moreover, providers are unable to encumber the funds by June 30, 2011, as specified in Act 191, due to the delayed release of the funds.

 

     Your Committees have further amended the contents of H.B. No. 1061 that were inserted into this measure by:

 

(1)  Providing nearly all the funding and other provisions for adult dental care through the Federally Qualified Health Centers formerly granted under program ID HMS 245 – QUEST health care payments to the Hawaii Primary Care Association by appropriating the sum of $1,900,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2010-2011;

 

(2)  Appropriating the sum of $100,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2010-2011 for the Maui Community College, University of Hawaii, for the adult dental care program;

 

(3)  Changing the name of Hale Hoomalu to Molokai Community Service Council, which is the legal name of the nonprofit organization that Hale Hoomalu falls under, to ensure that the organization receives funding; and

 

(4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 516, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 516, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

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

 

 

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair

 

____________________________

JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair