STAND. COM. REP. NO. 45-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 1710

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1710 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish the Student Scholarship and Support Special Fund (Fund) to enable the University of Hawaii (UH) to provide financial assistance to qualified students.

UH and the Associated Students of UH at Manoa submitted testimony in support of this bill. The Department of Budget and Finance submitted testimony in support of the intent of this bill.

Your Committee finds that UH currently provides tuition waivers to qualified students in lieu of scholarships. This bill will allow UH to provide scholarships which will then be paid back to UH as tuition. Providing scholarships instead of tuition waivers will have the additional benefit of allowing these students or their families to take advantage of the federal HOPE Scholarship tax credit program, which counts scholarships, but not tuition waivers, as eligible expenses for the purpose of claiming the tax credit.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Appropriating $20,000,000 from the Fund;

(2) Changing the name of the Fund to the Student Scholarship and Assistance Special Fund;

(3) Expanding the purpose section;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2004; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of style and clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1710, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1710, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

 

____________________________

K. MARK TAKAI, Chair