Bills to offer housing subsidies, prohibit rental discrimination

Bills to protect renters from discrimination and provide housing assistance subsidies to low-income families passed in the state Legislature this week.

On Tuesday, legislators passed Senate Bill 206, which will prohibit rental discrimination against recipients of Section 8 housing vouchers, according to a news release from the state House of Representatives on Wednesday.

“As Hawaii’s cost of housing continues to skyrocket, we need to take action to prevent discrimination against financially vulnerable families, for whom racism and classism remain barriers to the obtainment of housing security,” said Oahu Rep. Amy Perruso, a member of the Working Families Caucus.

Another measure, House Bill 2233, will authorize the Department of Human Services to provide additional housing assistance subsidies of up to $500 per month to participants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Temporary Assistance for Other Needy Families programs.

Perruso explained that “Hawaii has over $350 million in unspent TANF reserve funds, which is more than three times our annual TANF block grant amount.”

The caucus also announced that lawmakers included $26 million in the state budget to restore dental benefits for adult participants in the Hawaii Medicaid Program. In 2009, the state cut dental care funding for adults insured by Medicaid to address the economic downturn caused by the Great Recession, according to the news release. Without affordable dental treatment, community members turned to hospital emergency rooms to get help with dental ailments.