Bill Text: HI HB2014 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii House Bill 2014 (Prior Session Legislation)

HI State Legislature page for HB2014

Bill Title: Relating To Homelessness.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-04-27 - Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday, 04-27-18 at 2:00pm in Conference Room 325. [HB2014 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HB2014-Amended.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2014
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. For many years, the State has used homeless shelters and transitional group homes as an interim measure while attempting to place as many persons experiencing homelessness as possible into subsidized rentals and traditionally-constructed apartments. Economic constraints, construction delays, and landlords' resistance to accepting homeless tenants have made the supply of subsidized rentals and traditionally-constructed housing inadequate to meet the demand by persons experiencing homelessness. In addition, many persons who struggle with mental illness or substance abuse are forced to live unsheltered because they cannot reside in close quarters with others in a shelter or group home.

However, recent technological innovations have made it possible to build enough dwellings for every homeless person in Hawaii at a lower cost than what the State spends on the ancillary costs for unsheltered and nomadic homeless persons. These innovations will allow the State to place more individuals experiencing homelessness into housing more expeditiously and in accordance with housing first principles.

Multiple national studies show that housing first programs are enormously effective, mostly because the programs combine the stability of a permanent home with supportive services and treatment. As a result, housing first programs also foster recovery from addiction, mental illness, and other afflictions of homeless persons.

The legislature finds that chronic, unsheltered, nomadic homelessness is a humanitarian disaster endangering public health and safety. The legislature also finds that there is sufficient under- or unutilized state land suitable for the construction of homeless villages. The legislature further finds that the use of current technology to build homeless villages on state land will allow the State to create housing and implement housing first principles on a scale large enough to greatly reduce, if not end, homelessness in Hawaii.

The purpose of this Act is to increase efforts to reduce homelessness by:

(1) Requiring the governor to identify certain parcels of state land for the purpose of establishing homeless villages for individuals experiencing homelessness;

(2) Requiring the department of human services to provide assessments, services, and referral services for individuals within the homeless villages under a housing first paradigm; and

(3) Requiring the department of human services, in consultation with the governor, to submit reports to the legislature identifying parcels of land to establish a homeless village and any findings and recommendations relating to the Puuhonua homeless villages program.

SECTION 2. This Act shall be known as the Puuhonua Homeless Villages Act.

SECTION 3. (a) The governor shall take all steps and engage in all actions necessary to identify parcels of state land for the purpose of providing housing and supportive services to homeless persons.

(b) The governor shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session on the progress made in acquiring the parcels of state land specified in subsection (a) until all required parcels of land have been acquired for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. (a) There is established within the department of human services a Puuhonua homeless villages program. The program shall provide housing and supportive services to individuals experiencing homelessness under a housing first paradigm. A minimum of homes shall be completed within two years after the effective date of this Act or two years after the date the governor makes the applicable land available for the Puuhonua homeless villages program, whichever occurs later.

(b) Each homeless village shall:

(1) Be a minimum of one-half acre in size and contain no more than one hundred homes;

(2) Have a community center, which the department of human services shall make reasonable efforts to complete at a cost of $100,000 or less for each community center, that includes:

(A) Communal showers;

(B) Bathrooms;

(D) Lockers for residents' valuables;

(E) Mailboxes for incoming mail; and

(F) A multipurpose room for residential meetings and supportive services; and

(3) Have systems to dispose of trash and other waste.

(1) The construction cost for each home shall not exceed $15,000;

(2) Each home shall have at least three hundred square feet of living space, electricity with lighting, and a minimum of eight standard electrical outlets;

(3) Each home shall be a private dwelling for an individual or family experiencing homelessness; provided that unrelated individuals shall not be required to share a home; and

(4) At least fifty per cent of the manufacturing labor costs of each home shall be expended in Hawaii, as evidenced by Hawaii wages paid that are subject to Hawaii income tax withholding for each home, relative to all other labor costs for manufacturing of each home.

(d) Individuals or families experiencing homelessness shall be charged the cost of rent, utilities, and supportive services as follows:

(1) Individuals and families experiencing homelessness and who have no income shall not be charged;

(2) Individuals experiencing homelessness and who have income shall not be charged more than twenty per cent of the individual's gross monthly income; and

(3) Families experiencing homelessness and who have income shall not be charged more than twenty per cent of the family's aggregate monthly income, less $100 per month for each dependent family member that resides in the home;

provided that the department may adjust these amounts for inflation.

(e) The department of human services shall:

(1) Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as well as policies and procedures, for the purpose of qualifying applicants for residency under the Puuhonua homeless villages program; provided that:

(A) Qualification rules, policies, and procedures shall be consistent with the rules, policies, and procedures of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Coordinated Entry System;

(B) Qualification procedures provide for rapid admission, to the extent possible; and

(2) Establish rules for residents of the homeless villages that shall be reasonably consistent with housing first principles and shall make reasonable efforts to allow residents to participate in self-government;

(3) Collaborate with appropriate departmental personnel and state and county law enforcement agencies to provide security for the Puuhonua homeless villages program; and

(4) Work with appropriate agencies to ensure that residents of the homeless villages have reasonable access to public transportation.

(f) All state and county permitting and construction fees shall be waived for the homes and homeless village structures constructed pursuant to this Act.

(g) The department of human services, in conjunction with the governor, shall hold a public meeting prior to the establishment of a homeless village.

(h) The department of human services, in consultation with the governor, shall submit a report to the legislature on the progress made in acquiring the parcels of state land identified in section 3 of this Act no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2020.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 to establish the Puuhonua homeless villages program and construct homes and infrastructure as required by this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the management, maintenance, and day-to-day operations of Puuhonua homeless villages as required by this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

Puuhonua Homeless Villages Program; Appropriation; Homelessness; Department of Human Services; Report; Public Meeting

Description:

Requires the Governor to identify available state land for the establishment of a homelessness village. Establishes the Puuhonua Homeless Villages program. Requires the Department of Human Services, in conjunction with the Governor, to hold a public meeting prior to the establishment of a homeless village. Requires the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the Governor, to report to the legislature. Makes an appropriation. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD2)

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