Bill Text: HI SB1616 | 2025 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 1616

Bill Title: Relating To Care Centers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-13 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SB1616 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2025-SB1616-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1616
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO CARE CENTERS.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that access to affordable, quality child and elderly care services remains a critical challenge for Hawaii's working families. The cost of facilities represents one of the largest barriers for care providers to establish and maintain sustainable operations throughout the State. The State can play a pivotal role in expanding access to care services by incorporating dedicated care facilities into new state building construction and major renovation projects, simultaneously addressing the facilities cost barrier for care providers while maximizing the utility of state buildings to serve Hawaii's families. The State can also charge care facility operators below-market rents, and those savings may be applied toward recruiting staff, paying higher wages, charging a lower tuition, and expanding enrollment.

The purpose of this Act is to require the department of accounting and general services to conduct a feasibility study on the costs of establishing child care centers in state buildings.

SECTION 2. (a) The department of accounting and general services shall conduct a feasibility study that includes estimates of the costs associated with the implementation of dedicated spaces for child care centers in state buildings. The study shall:

(1) Identify and define, as necessary, a philosophy, program parameters, and regulatory requirements associated with child care centers;

(2) Develop criteria to be considered in the identification and selection of facilities deemed suitable to accommodate child care centers. The criteria may include:

(A) Child welfare, health, and safety;

(B) Facility location in relation to potential users and adjacent potentially incompatible occupancies;

(C) Availability of underutilized or unutilized space in the facility, the configuration of the space, and the suitability of the space to be converted to child care center use;

(D) Availability of suitable outdoor areas for child care recreation space;

(E) Vehicular circulation patterns within and adjacent to the facility, including potential suitability for short-term parking to facilitate drop-offs and pick-ups of children; and

(F) Proximity of other public and private child care centers that may impact the demand for the new state child care facility and the potential impact the new state child care facility may have on the market demand for existing child care centers.

(3) Develop child care center design criteria. The criteria shall include:

(A) Number and ages of children to be accommodated;

(B) Sizes of classrooms and other similar spaces;

(D) Food storage, preparation, and serving requirements;

(E) Other storage requirements;

(F) Indoor and outdoor recreation space requirements; and

(G) Other required and desirable characteristics;

(4) Develop criteria and procedures for operator qualification, selection, and contracting;

(5) Identify the state agency or any other individual or entity to whom responsibility for administration of the program should be assigned;

(6) Prepare an estimate of the planning, design, and construction costs anticipated for implementation of an average child care center in a state building; and

(7) Complete other tasks as appropriate and necessary for the study.

(b) The department of accounting and general services shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2027.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect January 1, 2491.

Report Title:

DAGS; State Buildings; Child Care; Dedicated Spaces; Feasibility Study; Report

Description:

Requires the Department of Accounting and General Services to conduct a feasibility study on establishing dedicated child care centers in state buildings. Requires a report to the Legislature. Effective 1/1/2491. (SD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.