Bill Text: HI HR57 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Repair and Maintenance

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-09 - (H) The committee(s) recommends that the measure be deferred. [HR57 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2011-HR57-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	57
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the hawaii public housing authority to develop and implement a sustainable plan to repair all public housing units in need of maintenance.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the current fiscal climate has resulted in high unemployment rates, with many families losing income sources; and

 

     WHEREAS, without viable sources of income, these families have been unable to pay for housing costs, dramatically increasing the homeless population and the need for reasonably-priced public housing; and

 

     WHEREAS, even without the additional strain on the public housing system caused by the economy, there is a significant wait list for available public housing units; and

 

     WHEREAS, the availability of clean, safe, and decent housing can play a vital role in an individual's emergence from poverty; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the January 2010 "State Occupancy Report," only 24 of 364 vacant units were "rent ready" and available for immediate occupancy; and

 

     WHEREAS, including those units that are currently occupied, much of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority's (HPHA) inventory of affordable housing projects is nearly 60 years old and in a state of disrepair and deterioration; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State's limited fiscal resources have been compounding the problem of deteriorating public housing, as cost-cutting efforts have resulted in both the acquisition of minimal quality infrastructure and an inability to maintain that infrastructure on an ongoing basis; and
     WHEREAS, the most recent example of this is the deleterious state of the hot water heating system at the Mayor Wright public housing complex; and

 

     WHEREAS, HPHA's current five-year plan, approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, includes provisions to improve tenant rent collection to allow for more repair and renovation of existing public housing units; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that the HPHA Board, in its efforts to provide lower income families with decent, safe, and sanitary housing, has been actively exploring ways to accomplish the renovation and repair of the State's public housing inventory; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, that this body urges the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to develop and implement a sustainable plan to repair all public housing units in need of maintenance; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that HPHA is urged to consider how necessary renovations and maintenance may be undertaken at reduced or no cost through collaboration with the Department of Public Safety, the construction trades, and other relevant entities; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that HPHA is requested to report to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012 on the development and implementation of the sustainable plan to repair all public housing units in need of maintenance; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority Board of Directors, and the Director of Public Safety.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Repair and Maintenance