STAND. COM. REP. NO. 361

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 673
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Technology and
Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was
referred S.B. No. 673 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII NATIONAL GUARD
     YOUTH CHALLENGE PROGRAM,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to ensure funding for the
Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Program by requiring that
the Department of Education transfer moneys to the Department of
Defense to match additional federal funds and finance the
operations of the Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Program.

     Attending the hearing were all of the participants of the
current class of the Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge
Program.  Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by
the Department of Defense, the Office of Youth Services, and the
Parent Support Advisory Group of the Youth Challenge Program.
Verbal testimony in support of this measure was given by a
concerned individual.  The Department of Education submitted
testimony in support of the intent of this measure, but citied
its problematic financial impact on other educational programs.

     Your Committees find that the Hawaii National Guard Youth
Challenge Program is an excellent program for helping "at risk"
children learn the skills to create better lives for themselves.
It is necessary that State funding continue for this valuable
program. 

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 361
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     Your Committees also find that the Department of Education
would not be able to transfer the sums directed by this measure
without causing a debilitating effect on other critically
important programs that were included in the budget.  Your
Committees further find that a direct appropriation to the
Department of Defense to finance the program for the 1999-2001
fiscal biennium will centralize the program's budget and audit
management within the Department of Defense and eliminate the
Department of Education from the budgetary process.  The
Department of Defense is the lead agency in administering the
Youth Challenge Program, and the Department of Education concurs
with this proposal.

     Accordingly, this measure was amended to delete the transfer
of funds from the Department of Education to the Department of
Defense, and to appropriate matching State funds directly to the
Department of Defense to finance the operations of the Hawaii
National Guard Youth Challenge Program.  This measure was also
amended to clarify the calculation of the amount the State must
appropriate to match the federal funds.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Education and Technology and Transportation and
Intergovernmental Affairs that are attached to this report, your
Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B.
No. 673, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 673, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Education and
                                   Technology and Transportation
                                   and Intergovernmental Affairs,



____________________________       ______________________________
CAL KAWAMOTO, Chair                DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

 
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