Bill Text: HI SCR79 | 2015 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Freely Associated States; Study
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-01 - Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SCR79 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2015-SCR79-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
79 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE Department of the Attorney General and Department of Human Services to conduct a study on the status of the implementation of the recommendations made in the Final Report of the Compacts of Free Association Task Force pursuant to S.R. No. 142, S.D. 1, Regular Session of 2007.
WHEREAS, The Compact of Free Association (Compact) defines the relationship that the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau have as associated states with the United States; and
WHEREAS, under the Compact, the United States provides direct economic assistance, federal services, and military protection to the associated states in exchange for defense rights; and
WHEREAS, under the Compact, Freely Associated States citizens can migrate in and out of Hawaii without visas or other immigration requirements; and
WHEREAS, according to United States census data, it is estimated that over twelve thousand Freely Associated States citizens have migrated to Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, this migration has had a significant financial impact on Hawaii in terms of unreimbursed health care, education, public safety, and welfare costs; and
WHEREAS, since the federal government continues to provide inadequate federal medical and welfare assistance to Freely Associated States citizens who migrated to Hawaii and other parts of the United States, many rely on state aid; and
WHEREAS, it is reported that the education, health, public safety, and social services cost of migrants from the Freely Associated States to Hawaii alone was $628,752,280 between 2004 and 2010, with education and health care costs accounting for the largest shares; and
WHEREAS, there are high rates of tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and syphilis reported among migrants from the Freely Associated States; and
WHEREAS, there is no centralized plan for the provision of services to this population; and
WHEREAS, the Senate adopted S.R. No. 142, S.D. 1 (S.R. No. 142), during the Regular Session of 2007, which requested the Attorney General to convene a task force to investigate and coordinate the provision of services to migrants from the Freely Associated States; and
WHEREAS, the task force established under S.R. No. 142 focused on three general areas and created subcommittees to address each area, including funding, census, and services, and made recommendations for each of these focus areas; and
WHEREAS, under the Final Report of the Compacts of Free Association Task Force Pursuant to Senate Resolution No. 142, S.D. 1, Regular Session of 2007, the task force made several recommendations to increase funding, accurately track the census of Freely Associated States citizens migrating to and residing in Hawaii, and coordinate efforts to increase and effectively deliver services to the new community of members from the Freely Associated States; and
WHEREAS, since the submittal of the task force's report during the Regular Session of 2009, the census of Freely Associated States citizens residing in Hawaii has increased, which has strengthened the need to coordinate efforts providing services to Freely Associated States citizens with limited resources; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Human Services are requested to conduct a study on the status of the implementation of the recommendations made in the Final Report of the Compacts of Free Association Task Force Pursuant to Senate Resolution No. 142, S.D. 1, Regular Session of 2007; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Human Services provide an update to the Final Report of the Compacts of Free Association Task Force Pursuant to Senate Resolution No. 142, S.D. 1, Regular Session of 2007 and status of the State's implementation of the recommendations relating to funding, census, and services; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, with respect to the recommendations relating to services, the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Human Services are requested to provide further details on the following recommendations:
(1) Establishing a cultural center model, which would be culturally sensitive, to standardize the service delivery process and promote accessibility through a number of designated sites statewide;
(2) As an alternative to a cultural center model, providing coordinated case management so that a client would have assistance in navigating the often confusing bureaucracy of the state agencies that provide social services;
(3) Developing and implementing an acculturation program to better inform Freely Associated States migrants of resources available to them; and
(4) Expanding the distribution of the acculturation booklet that was developed through the collaborative effort of state and private agencies that is interpreted into the six major languages; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Human Services identify any gaps in providing medical, educational, housing, and social services to Freely Associated States citizens, including assistance in copayments for migrants who are not eligible for health insurance copayment assistance; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Human Services are requested to submit a report to the Legislature of their findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2016 Regular Session; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General, Director of Human Services, Director of the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs in Hawaii, President of Micronesians United, and President of the Micronesian Community Network.
Freely Associated States; Study
