STAND. COM. REP. NO.175

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 832

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 832 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII STATE PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure, as received by your Committee, is to allow taxpayers to designate $2 of their income tax liability to support the Hawaii state public library system.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the State Librarian and the Department of Taxation. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that the Hawaii State Public Library System is a critical component of our statewide education network. Your Committee further finds that allowing taxpayers to make a donation to the state library system is both an innovative and efficient method of fundraising that can assist with the rising costs of maintaining an updated collection for library customers. However, your Committee believes that the taxpayer donation should come from the taxpayer's own refund, rather that the taxpayer's liability owed to the State, in order to offset any state revenue loss.

Thus, your Committee has amended this measure by allowing taxpayers to designate $2 of their income tax refund rather than their income tax liability owed to the State.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 832, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 832, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair