Since the beginning, Hawai‘i’s first inhabitants built their society around the ‘ohana—the extended family group—living and working cooperatively to ensure their continued viability as a culture. They recognized not only their need to rely on one another, but also their responsibility to provide for all who shared their fate. Whether on a canoe crossing a changing sea or in a chain of islands thousands of miles from the place they once called home, they knew that they supported themselves by strengthening each other.
Senate Majority Initiative: Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation restructuring
SB 1673
SB1673 supports the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation (HHSC), the fourth-largest public health system in the nation, in exploring a transition to a corporate structure. It allows the HHSC to carefully evaluate the change, and ensure that the HHSC remains intact in order to provide central support services to the regional systems and facilities seeking to remain a part of this valuable state agency.
Senate Majority Initiative: Allocation of TANF expenditures
SB 1666
In these difficult economic times, Hawai‘i’s expenditure of temporary assistance for needy family funds must not only account for the economic slowdown, but maintain reserves in anticipation of a continued financial slump. SB1666 details how the legislature will spend TANF funds, emphasizing direct payments to families, employment training, teenage pregnancy prevention, and keeping families intact. The bill also maintains an adequate reserve of TANF funds to provide for the continued provision of necessary support programs.
Senate Majority Initiative: Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund
SB 1679
In 1999, the legislature established the emergency and budget reserve fund as a temporary supplemental source of funding for the State of Hawai‘i in times of emergency, economic downturn, or unforeseen reduction in revenues. SB1679 appropriates moneys from the emergency budget and reserve fund to maintain levels of programs for education, human services, and health.
Senate Majority Initiative: Food Stamp eligibility
SB 1668
Hawai‘i loses millions of dollars in federal funding each year due to its 72% participation rate among eligible households in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, formerly known as the Food Stamps program. A higher rate of participation would draw millions of dollars in addition federal dollars into the Hawai‘i economy. The State’s stringent eligibility requirements, which are more restrictive than required by federal law, and lengthy application process contribute to the low participation among Hawai‘i households.
SB1668 eases Hawai‘i’s eligibility requirements and establishes an outreach program to increase participation among eligible households. In addition to providing needed services to Hawai‘i families, increased participation will provide a multiplier effect: The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that for every $5 spent through the supplemental nutrition assistance program, there is a $9.20 benefit to the community.
Senate Majority Initiative: Telehealth
SB 1676
Since 1999, the legislature has supported the use and expansion of telehealth services and technology in Hawai‘i. With internet technology revolutionizing the way consumers acquire goods and services today, it was only a matter of time before this type of technology was applied to health care. Hawai‘i is poised to be the first state in the nation to provide statewide consumer access to local physicians via the internet and telephone.
SB1676 makes amendments to Hawai‘i law to enhance and support an expansion of new technology in the use of telemedicine, and clarify that telehealth is within the scope of a physician’s practice.
Senate Majority Initiative: Partial Unemployment
SB 1664
Hawai‘i’s current economic slowdown has led to an alarming increase in unemployment as local businesses find themselves unable to maintain their employee rolls at former levels. SB1664 establishes a program allowing employers to continue employing workers with reduced hours, while permitting those facing decreases in earnings with a means of making up for lost income. The bill adds definitions relating to partial unemployment and sets out claimants' eligibility, claims filing, and registration requirements, and employers' reporting requirements for partial unemployment.
