Leaders of the state Senate and House of Representatives said Tuesday they are making good on promises to make helping the homeless and providing affordable housing a top priority.

House measures that have now cleared the chamber seek to support homeless families that are working, help homeless individuals and families who want to , assist homeless and aid people in getting .

Senate measures would create for shelters, give the state聽聽greater oversight and assistance, appropriate funds for of homeless people with mental health problems and establish a goal of providing at least 22,500 more affordable housing units.

2907 Ala Ilima Street. Salt Lake. Honolulu. Housing. 17 july 2015. photograph Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Many of the two-bedroom units in the Salt Lake Apartments are empty because the Hawaii Public Housing Authority doesn’t have enough money to fix them. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

The bills, said Senate Majority Leader Kalani English, show that his members are listening to 鈥渢he concerns of constituents.鈥

House Speaker Joe Souki said the measures would 鈥済o a long way鈥 toward getting people off the streets to help them become 鈥渇unctioning members of our society.鈥

The measures faced a first 鈥渃rossover鈥 deadline this week聽for non-budget-related bills to move from one chamber to another.

What鈥檚 not clear, however, is how much money would be dedicated to the measures.

There are some specific numbers in several bills. For instance, 聽would transfer $9.5 million in 鈥渆xcess鈥 money from a revolving fund for rental assistance聽to another dedicated to rental housing, while calls for $5 million 鈥渙r so鈥 to set up or improve transitional shelters as long as the same amount is deducted from another measure .

But other measures leave the dollar amounts blank for now.

Scott Morishige, the state coordinator on homelessness, says more funding for outreach on the neighbor islands is needed.
Scott Morishige, the state coordinator on homelessness, says more funding for outreach on the neighbor islands is needed. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

The same goes for an omnibus housing measure, . It has passed the House and is in the Senate, but for now dollar amounts are left blank for funding the Rental Housing Trust Fund, the state鈥檚 public housing agency, for the rental assistance program (also known as the Shallow Rent Subsidy Program) and for Housing First under DHS and its expansion to the neighbor islands,

Similarly, leaves blank how much money it would cost to establish a Work for a Day Pilot Program offering 鈥渨ork opportunities鈥 to homeless people that would be administered by the City and County of Honolulu.

Leaving specific dollar amounts out of a bill at this point in the legislative process is not unusual. For advocates of more support for affordable housing and the homeless, the fact that so many substantial听辫颈别肠别蝉听of legislation devoted to those purposes remain alive is a good sign.

鈥淚 think there seems to be a lot of focus and attention on both issues,鈥 said Scott Morishige, Gov. David Ige鈥檚 coordinator on homelessness. 鈥淥ur goal is really to look at permanent housing as an end goal. The right types of intervention can connect people to permanent housing more quickly.鈥

Morishige said most of the administration’s priorities remain alive, but they are in the state budget bill, which is still to be heard in the Senate.

The budget includes money requested for more outreach workers on the neighbor islands. Kauai, for example, has only one such position.

7 may2015. photograph Cory Lum/Civil Beat
House Vice Speaker John Mizuno, left, seen here with Speaker Joe Souki, insists that affordable housing and homeless care are legislative priorities. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

鈥淣o one size fits all,鈥 said Morishige. 鈥淚t is really important to understand each person鈥檚 unique situation, and the outreach staff play that critical role.鈥

Meanwhile, moving through the House to deal with housing would expand the low income-household renter’s income tax credit based on adjusted gross income. And a bill that would increase funding for by making the state鈥檚 low-income housing tax credit more valuable has already arrived in the Senate.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 good that the House and Senate as well as the governor agree we need to deliver,鈥 said House Vice Speaker John Mizuno. 鈥淲e are not out of the woods in having the highest per capita homeless, but that we are taking substantial steps to reduce homelessness is a great start.鈥

Mizuno added that as the bills move from House to Senate and vice versa, and then on to joint conference committee, legislation will continue to evolve. The same goes for the live items in the budget bill.

But he said he was confidant that final legislation would reflect that housing and homeless remain priorities once the session concludes in early May.

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