STAND. COM. REP. NO. 91

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 431
                                     




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. 431 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE X,
     SECTION 6, OF THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION, TO PROVIDE THE
     UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII WITH AUTONOMY IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO
     THE UNIVERSITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to propose an amendment to
Article X, section 6, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii
to provide the University of Hawaii with complete autonomy in all
matters related to the university.

     Testimony in support of the bill was received from the
University of Hawaii Professional Assembly.  Testimony in
opposition was received from the Department of Budget and
Finance.  The University of Hawaii commented on the bill.

     Your Committee recognizes that the University of Hawaii can
achieve its multiple mission of teaching, research, and community
service by being provided a substantial degree of flexibility.
Your Committee also feels that an effective University of Hawaii
can be a force in regenerating Hawaii's economy.  Thus, Act 115,
Session Laws of Hawaii 1998, was enacted by the Legislature and
signed into law by the Governor last year.


 
 
 
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     Your Committee expects that the University of Hawaii will
formulate an effective system of prioritizing their programs to
determine whether any particular program should be modified in
scope or terminated.  It will be the responsibility of the
university community to make analytical decisions as to program
status and be accountable for these decisions as an important
aspect of greater autonomy.

     Your Committee expects that the University Board of Regents
and administration will implement this autonomy through the
delegation of responsibilities and accountability of action to
the operational levels of the university system such as provosts,
chancellors, deans, and directors to fully realize the benefits
of creativity, rapid response to the marketplace and financial as
well as educational gains.

     Your Committee also expects the University of Hawaii to
collaborate to achieve its goals.  The Board of Regents and
administration must encourage participation from every level of
the organization in developing policy and procedure decisions.
This would include students, faculty, and staff.

     In addition, the broader community should also become
participants.  All levels of the university should communicate
and collaborate with members of commerce and industry, other
government agencies (county, state, and federal), alumni, and
others.  The University of Hawaii should, furthermore, place a
great deal of emphasis to serving the educational needs of the
Asian Pacific region.  Collaboration must be both internal and
external in order to achieve the highest performance level for
the University.

     Your Committee looks forward to the future achievements of
the University of Hawaii.  The awarding of autonomy is the first
step.  It is the university community that will now have the
responsibility, authority, and accountability to reach the goal
of increasing the strength and reputation of the University of
Hawaii as a premier educational institution and, therefore,
becoming a major contributor to the overall economic
revitalization of the State of Hawaii.

     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. 431 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be
referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.


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



                                   ______________________________
                                   DAVID MORIHARA, Chair