Foytik v. Chandler

MOON, Chief Justice.

This case arises out of rules promulgated by the Department of Human Services [hereinafter, DHS or Department] in response to the legislature’s 1995 amendments to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 346-71, which concerns general assistance (GA) welfare. The amendments changed GA from an entitlement to a block-grant program and granted DHS some flexibility in setting the amounts of GA benefits and the eligibility criteria. As such, DHS promulgated rules governing, inter alia, the nature and implementation of benefit reductions, suspensions, and/or cancellations. More…