CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 155

                            Honolulu, Hawaii
                                            , 2000

                            RE:   H.B. No. 645
                                  S.D. 2
                                  C.D. 1




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

Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the
House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate
in H.B. No. 645, S.D. 2, entitled:

    "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERANS RIGHTS AND BENEFITS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to
recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final
passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this bill is to provide an alternative to the
disbursement of burial grant funds for World War II Filipino
veterans (veterans).

     This bill requires the Office of Veterans Services (OVS), at
the request of a deceased Filipino veteran's survivor or an
interested party, to make payment to:

     (1) Provide funeral and burial services for a deceased
         veteran; and

     (2) Transport the remains of a deceased veteran to the
         Philippines.

 
 
                            CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 155
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     Among other things, this bill also:

     (1) Requires OVS to establish specific eligibility criteria,
         application and appeal procedures, service choices, and
         invoicing arrangements; and

     (2) Appropriates the sum of $1.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this bill by:

     (1) Clarifying the purpose of this bill by specifying that
         OVS is authorized to provide grants;

     (2) Appropriating the sum of $55,000 for fiscal year 2000-
         2001;

     (3) Within the amount appropriated in this bill, requiring
         OVS to establish the maximum amounts of burial grant
         funds that may be disbursed;

     (4) Taking the provisions out of chapter 363, Hawaii Revised
         Statutes, and authorizing OVS to implement the purposes
         of this bill; and

     (5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the
         purpose of consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your
Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your
Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose
of H.B. No. 645, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No.
645, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the managers:        

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE          ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE



_______________________________    _______________________________
CAL KAWAMOTO, Co-Chair             NESTOR R. GARCIA, Co-Chair



_______________________________    _______________________________
ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair             EZRA R. KANOHO, Co-Chair