SB 2669: Office of Enterprise Technology Services; Hawaii Benefits Hub; Social Assistance Programs; Appropriation

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to human services.

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

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii's residents often face significant challenges meeting the requirements to apply for and verify eligibility for state managed social assistance programs, such as food or housing assistance or assistance for elderly or disabled persons.  These individuals often must provide the same information multiple times for different programs and must repeat this process at regular intervals.  Some programs have different benefit eligibility requirements, which can cause confusion for persons applying for multiple programs at the same time.

     Recent changes to federal requirements for some federal social assistance programs, such increases in the frequency of eligibility verification and the introduction of new eligibility requirements, are expected to increase the challenges Hawaii's residents face in accessing benefits and the administrative burden on the agencies providing these services to Hawaii's residents.  One particular challenge is the new medicaid eligibility requirement to document "community engagement" in the form of proof of work, training, or volunteer activities of up to eighty hours a month.

     The legislature further finds that the office of enterprise technology services has the ability to procure master data management, data governance, and data lakehouse tools.  With these tools, the office of enterprise technology services can create a Hawaii benefits hub, which can act as a central portal to assist residents applying for state managed benefits.  The Hawaii benefits hub can be established through a combination of:

     (1)  Master data management to understand applicants holistically across social assistance programs;

     (2)  Data governance to protect applicant privacy and ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations;

     (3)  A data lakehouse that will allow applicants to share data between different social assistance programs and provide proactive reminders and alerts for residents about their benefit eligibility; and

     (4)  A central data integration platform that can collect working and volunteering hours from applicants, employers, and nonprofit organizations.

     The legislature additionally finds that establishing a Hawaii benefits hub will greatly improve the ability of Hawaii's residents to access state managed social assistance benefit programs and ensure they are aware of, and can meet, all eligibility requirements for the benefits they are applying for.  The Hawaii benefits hub can act as a single point of entry for residents to identify which services they are eligible for, provide the information needed for all participating benefit programs, and receive alerts and recommended actions to remain eligible for their benefits.  The Hawaii benefits hub will also reduce administrative burdens for agencies managing social assistance programs by being a central repository for eligibility data, which will reduce redundant costs and ensure the consistency of data provided to all participating agencies.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require and appropriate funds for the office of enterprise technology services to establish a Hawaii benefits hub.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part VII to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§27-     Hawaii benefits hub; established; requirements.  (a)  There is establish with the office of enterprise technology services a Hawaii benefits hub to act as a central repository for the needs and credentials of Hawaii's residents applying to state managed social assistance benefit programs and as a central registry for qualified volunteer and educational programs that meet social assistance benefit program community engagement requirements.  The Hawaii benefits hub shall provide applicants with:

     (1)  Real-time information on current eligibility and verification requirements for state managed social assistance programs; and

     (2)  A user interface, such as an application or webpage, that will allow applicants to enter information to apply for state managed social assistance programs.

     (b)  In establishing the Hawaii benefits hub, the office of enterprise technology services shall purchase or develop the following:

     (1)  A data governance tool to ensure data quality and privacy protection with secured, controlled data sharing;

     (2)  A data management platform to request and manage data from employers, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and federal and state agencies and provide adjustments to any eligibility or verification requirements for state managed social assistance programs;

     (3)  A data interface tool to link all systems and applications for the purpose of data transfer; and

     (4)  A data science tool with machine learning or artificial intelligence capabilities to predict applicant needs, alert applicants to potential loss of benefits, and provide applicants with information on the nearest available opportunity to satisfy any community engagement or other benefit eligibility requirements.

     (c)  Every employer, educational institution, nonprofit organization, and state agency shall, upon request from the Hawaii benefits hub, provide the Hawaii benefits hub with information on an applicant's wages and hours worked.  Data provided by an employer, educational institution, nonprofit organization, and state agency shall be provided in real time, if practicable, or within one business day of the request if the provision of data in real time is impracticable.  Every employer, educational institution, nonprofit organization, and state agency shall comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations when sharing data with the Hawaii benefits hub."

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $4,250,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the establishment of the Hawaii benefits hub, to be allocated as follows:

     (1)  $2,000,000 for a consultant to implement the Hawaii benefits hub system;

     (2)  $500,000 to establish:

          (A)  One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent project manager;

          (B)  One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent data architect;

          (C)  One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent data engineer; and

          (D)  One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent data frontend developer;

     (3)  $250,000 for data and artificial intelligence governing tools;

     (4)  $500,000 for computing and storage capacity;

     (5)  $500,000 for an integration platform; and

     (6)  $500,000 for a user interface.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the office of enterprise technology services for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

Report Title:

Office of Enterprise Technology Services; Hawaii Benefits Hub; Social Assistance Programs; Appropriation

Description:

Establishes the Hawaii Benefits Hub within the Office of Enterprise Technology Services.  Appropriates funds.

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