Bill Text: HI SB2501 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 2501 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating To Homelessness.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-23 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) C. Lee, Lowen, McDermott, Souki, Tokioka excused (5). [SB2501 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-SB2501-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2501
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS.

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

SECTION 1. (a) There is established within the department of human services an ohana zones program. The program shall provide housing and supportive services to individuals experiencing homelessness under a housing first paradigm with the goal of alleviating intergenerational poverty. A minimum of eight thousand homes shall be completed within two years after the effective date of this Act or two years after the date the governor makes the land available for the ohana zones program, whichever occurs later.

(b) Each ohana zone shall:

(1) Be a minimum of two acres in size and contain no more than one hundred homes;

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

(A) Communal showers;

(B) Bathrooms;

(D) Social health care and wrap-around services;

(E) A kitchen;

(F) Lockers for residents' valuables;

(G) Mailboxes for incoming mail; and

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

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

(4) Have available outreach, counseling, and diversion services for substance abuse treatment; and

(5) Provide program participants with lease and tenant protections as provided by law and civil legal services.

(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) Pets shall be permitted in each home pursuant to any rules the department of human services adopts pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as well as any applicable ohana zone policies and procedures; and

(4) Each home shall be a private dwelling for an individual or family experiencing homelessness; provided that individuals who are unrelated shall not be required to share a 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 that have no income shall not be charged;

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

(3) Families that have income but are experiencing homelessness 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 ohana zones 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 ohana zones 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 ohana zones program; and

(4) Work with appropriate agencies to ensure that residents 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, in consultation with people experiencing homelessness, shall establish no later than December 31, 2018, the following:

(1) The criteria that the department will use to evaluate potential ohana zone locations;

(2) A monthly timetable of milestones that the department expects to meet in establishing one or more ohana zones over the course of the first two years following the effective date of this Act;

(3) The specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and time-based performance measures that the department expects to meet in establishing one or more ohana zones;

(4) The evaluation criteria and process that the department intends to use each year when reviewing the success and sustainability of the ohana zones; and

(5) The monitoring and oversight controls that the department will have over the ohana zones to identify, address, and prevent possible fraud, waste, and abuse and ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws.

(h) The department shall establish an ohana zone at one or more of the sites approved for a ohana zone no later than June 30, .

SECTION 2. Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part XVII to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§346- Governor's coordinator on homelessness; establishment; responsibilities. There is established within the department for administrative purposes only, a full-time governor's coordinator on homelessness to ."

SECTION 3. Chapter 662, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§662- Limited liability for providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness. No public entity or public employee shall be liable to any person for injury or damage caused by a public employee providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness; provided that the employee was acting in good faith and within the scope of the employee's functions and duties as an employee of the State."

SECTION 4. Chapter 662D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§662D- Limited liability for volunteers for the government entity providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness. (a) No volunteer for a governmental entity shall be liable to any person for injury or damage caused by a volunteer providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness; provided that the volunteer was acting in good faith and within the scope of the volunteer's functions and duties.

(b) No nonprofit organization or nonprofit corporation that provides volunteers to a governmental entity providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness shall be liable to any person for injury or damage caused by the volunteer; provided that the volunteer was acting in good faith and within the scope of the volunteer's functions and duties."

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 for the establishment of the ohana zones program and expenses related to facility construction, provision of services, staffing, and administrative costs.