Finance Committee postpones Bill 161 after nonprofits and housing office urge clarifying language

The Hawaii County Council Finance Committee voted May 14 to postpone consideration of Bill 161 to the June 4 committee meeting after public testimony and extended discussion about whether adding ‘‘mental health’’ to a homelessness-and-housing fund would duplicate existing services or provide necessary support for people experiencing chronic homelessness.

Bill 161 would expand permitted uses of a residential-tier property tax revenue fund to include county-sponsored programs "designed to address mental health." At the start of the committee’s public testimony period, Billie Jo Pite (Director of Community Engagement, Neighborhood Place of Puna) and Kristen Alice (Hope Services) both told the committee they opposed the bill as written. Pite said the county already funds multiple mental‑health programs through the homelessness fund and warned that creating a separate broad category risks diverting resources away from people living on the street. Alice said codifying mental health in the fund could cause “mission drift” unless the new language is narrowly tailored.

The bill’s maker told the committee she will work on amendments to clarify intent and guardrails. Susan (administrator, Office of Housing and Community Development) advised that the office already funds multiple providers and recommended restricting any mental‑health funding to services that directly address homelessness; she also said OHCD will present a first impact report on June 4 with data on service recipients and program performance.

Council members raised concerns the current draft’s language is broad and could unintentionally expand the fund beyond its original homelessness-and-housing purpose. Several members said they want clarifying language that limits use to mental‑health interventions tied to housing and homelessness outcomes; others urged patience until the impact report is available. The committee voted 9–0 to postpone the item to June 4 to allow OHCD to provide data and for the maker to offer amendments.