STAND. COM. REP. NO. 234

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1351
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred
H.B. No. 1351 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE
     UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SCHOOL OF MEDICINE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to the
University of Hawaii Medical School.

     The University of Hawaii testified that State funding,
together with revenues generated from other sources, can position
the medical school as a significant contributor to health
sciences research on an international level and as an innovator
in health care delivery at a national level.

     In his 1999 State-of-the-State address, Governor Ben
Cayetano described his vision of Hawaii becoming the healthcare
and wellness center of the Pacific.  For this vision to become a
reality, Hawaii must be the home of a solid and credible medical
school.  The John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University
of Hawaii must become a beacon for advanced biomedical research
and high quality medical care.

     Your Committee recognizes that intensive research programs
attract top-quality medical specialists, provide access to
leading experimental therapeutic procedures, generate
intellectual capital that fuels economic activity, and bring in
lucrative extramural grants and contracts. 

 
 
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     Pursuing state-of-the-art biomedical research in turn
enriches the instruction programs of the medical school,
strengthening the symbiotic partnership formed with the medical
community.  These programs in research and instruction advance
the role of the health care industry, which is critical to
revitalizing the State's economy.

     Your Committee also recognizes that there needs to be broad
support and strong commitment from the medical community, as well
as the Executive branch of the state government, to effectuate
this vision.  

     The bill has been amended by:

     (1)  Adding a purpose section to express the intent of
          establishing Hawaii as healthcare and wellness center
          of the Pacific; and

     (2)  Inserting the figure of $3,000,000 as the amount
          appropriated for each year of the fiscal biennium 1999-
          2001.

     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. 1351, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1351, H.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   DAVID MORIHARA, Chair