STAND. COM. REP. NO. 34-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2031

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2031 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BED AND BREAKFAST HOMES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to support the homeless by:

(1) Generating general excise (GET) and transient accommodations tax (TAT) revenues to be used for the homeless;

(2) Sanctioning existing illegal bed and breakfast (B&B) homes that do not qualify to operate under county regulation, providing that these B&B homes:

(A) Register with the City and County of Honolulu before October 1, 2004; and

(B) Acquire a GET license and a TAT certificate of registration; and

(3) Establishing a Homeless Trust Account to be administered by the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii (HCDCH).

 

The Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, Catholic Charities Elderly Services, Kalihi-Palama Health Center, Partners In Care, and Gregory House Programs submitted testimony in support of this bill. HCDCH supported the intent of the measure. The Department of Budget and Finance and Tax Foundation of Hawaii submitted comments on the bill. The Department of Taxation, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu submitted testimony in opposition to the bill.

The controversy generated by dedicating a funding source for the homeless in a time when many other worthy programs are in need has not escaped your Committee. Your Committee also is cognizant of the opposition to allowing, otherwise unqualified B&B homes to operate so that funds will be available for HCDCH to help the homeless.

However, your Committee recognizes that adequate housing is a statewide concern that needs funding for outreach, case management, and housing placement programs for the homeless. A 2003 survey by SMS Research & Marketing estimated that the number of people living on Hawaii's public parks, beaches, and streets at 6,029, which is an increase of 90 percent from the estimated 3,171 people counted in a similar survey in 1990.

This measure attempts to capture GET and TAT revenues that are escaping the tax collection net, by bringing unqualified B&B homes within regulatory oversight, and limits its application to the City and County of Honolulu. Your Committee is of the position that the plight of the State's homeless deserves a further hearing before the Committee on Judiciary to further plead and address their case, e.g., the sufficiency of the funds, the limited application to the City and County of Honolulu, and the nexus between B&B homes and the homeless.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2031 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

____________________________

EZRA R. KANOHO, Chair