Note: The Hawaii state legislature is temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
The Hawaii Catholic Conference, the public policy voice for the Diocese of Honolulu, has been tracking bills addressing homelessness, the minimum wage, mental health and other issues of concern now making their way through the Hawaii State Legislature. The positions and priorities taken by the Hawaii Catholic Conference are approved by its board of directors.
During the first half of the legislative session, much effort has been given to secure funding for programs that help Hawaii’s homeless community. That is a tall order because funding is needed for so many projects. Many great resources are vying for a small pot of money. I am always amazed at how much negotiating takes place behind the scenes to ensure that current projects are well-funded, while future projects receive enough funding to be sustainable in the long run. Catholic Charities Hawaii remains vigilant on these issues and continues to be a voice of reason at the legislature.
Housing efforts
Current efforts include securing $50,000 in Grant in Aid (GIA) funding for the Lanakila Multi-Purpose Senior Center (run by Catholic Charities), $5 million for State Rent Supplement (ongoing rental subsidies to keep current recipients in the program and to help expand it), and $200 million for the Rental Housing Revolving Fund.
Another $2.5 million is needed for predevelopment costs for the Hawaii Public Housing Authority’s School Street redevelopment which includes 250 senior housing units in its first phase. This is important because the total senior housing available when all three phases are complete will be 800 units. Another priority is $1.9 million for After-Care (long-term case management) to prevent homeless and at-risk families who have found permanent housing from falling back into homelessness.
Minimum wage
Economic justice remains a priority as well. Efforts continue to increase the minimum wage and make the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refundable. Both are in the joint package bill, “Helping Working Families.” We support earned income tax credits because they benefit low to moderate income working families with children. The current minimum wage is $10.10 per hour. The current bill increases the minimum wage to $11 beginning Jan. 1, 2021, $12 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2022, $12.50 beginning Jan. 1, 2023, and $13 beginning Jan. 1, 2024. Many believe $13 per hour is insufficient and are asking the legislature to increase it to $17. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have minimum wage rates higher than Hawaii.
Catholic Charities is also strongly supporting five important mental health bills, all on creating crisis stabilization beds, which are urgently needed but not available in Hawaii. There is a gap in services for homeless individuals who are in crisis but who do not need acute hospitalization for mental illness or substance abuse. Lower level community treatment programs are not sufficient. Unfortunately, these vulnerable homeless people often return to the streets and suffer from a cycle of relapse.
Statute of limitations
Again, bills are moving through the legislature that would extend the statute of limitation for sexual abuse cases. The Diocese of Honolulu has submitted testimony in support of a bill that adds clergy to the categories of persons who are required to report child abuse and neglect to the Department of Human Services or to police. Bishop Larry Silva, who submitted testimony directly, supports the bill because it specifically excludes knowledge of wrongdoing gained during “penitential communications,” which the bishop described as those things “revealed to the priest during the celebration of the sacrament of Penance.” His testimony made it clear that should that provision be removed, we would strongly oppose the bill. The bill also provides a “safe harbor” through Dec. 31, 2020, for clergy to report known or suspected child abuse that was previously unreported.
Another bill the diocese is supporting is a bill that will allow all religious institutions, including the 66 Catholic parishes throughout Hawaii, to construct and manage a columbarium, a place where funeral urns are stored, within the property of their places of worship. The bill clarifies that a church would be exempt from the state laws governing cemeteries.
Expanding assisted suicide
Not all the news is good. Here are two bills we are opposing:
Although assisted suicide has only been legal for one year, legislators want to expand the practice to allow advanced practice registered nurses (currently it is only physicians) to prescribe the lethal dose of drugs in accordance with their scope of practice and prescribing authority. The bill also allows physicians to waive the mandatory waiting period for those terminally ill individuals not expected to survive the mandatory waiting period.
Finally, another problematic bill mandates health insurers, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for comprehensive reproductive health services, drugs, devices, products, and procedures which specifically includes abortion, sterilization and contraceptive services. Language in the bill mandates that “every insurer shall provide written notice to its policyholders regarding the coverage required by this section. The notice shall be in writing and prominently positioned in any literature or correspondence sent to policyholders.” An interesting note to the bill is that the list of categories of prohibited discrimination for reproductive “health” noticeably EXCLUDES religion.
Eva Andrade is the executive director of the Hawaii Catholic Conference.
