STAND. COM. REP. NO. 375-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 2813
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred
H.B. No. 2813 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 give the University of Hawaii
(UH) complete autonomy from the executive branch.

     The UH, University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, and
Hawaii Business Roundtable supported this bill.  The Hawaii
Government Employees Association supported the intent of this
bill.  The Department of Budget and Finance opposed this measure.

     Your Committee finds that this bill would provide the UH
with significantly more fiscal autonomy, stimulate
entrepreneurship, and allow the UH to more freely and actively
pursue self-improvement.  It allows the University to submit a
separate budget directly to the Legislature, allowing UH to
pursue its economic agenda more effectively.

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

     (1)  Deleting the requirement that the Board of Regents
          (BOR) lower or raise UH's general fund expenditures by
          an equal amount to that established by the Governor for
          Executive appropriations within a given fiscal year;


 
 
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     (2)  Deleting all of the provisions in the bill that
          established and listed the UH as separate from the
          Executive branch, or which delineated the UH's removal
          from the purview of the Executive branch;

     (3)  Changing the phrase "general fund budget appropriation"
          to "base general fund budget appropriation";

     (4)  Defining "base general fund budget appropriation" as
          the amount of general funds appropriated, excluding any
          one-time appropriations made to a program and
          appropriations that are otherwise restricted by bill or
          proviso; and

     (5)  Deleting changes to the makeup of the BOR.

     Your Committee has made these changes to clarify and
streamline the intent of the bill to establish the University as
an independent financial body.  The definition of "base general
fund budget appropriation" was inserted to ensure that only
unrestricted general fund appropriations are used to calculate
the University's budget.  Special appropriations enacted through
separate bills or provisos are not to be included in calculations
of the University's base budget.

     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. 2813, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2813, H.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committees on Labor and Public Employment and
Finance.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   DAVID MORIHARA, Chair