STAND. COM. REP. NO.803
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.B. No. 1667
H.D. 2
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STUDENT LOANS FOR TEACHERS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to:
(1) Establish the Hawaii Educator Loan Program (HELP) and Special Fund to be administered by the University of Hawaii (UH) to provide loans to student with a baccalaureate degree in education who agree to teach in the Hawaii public school system;
(2) Provide for implementation and funding of HELP.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association and the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools supported this bill. UH supported the intent of the measure. Comments were provided by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. The Department of Budget and Finance opposed the bill.
Your Committee has amended this measure as suggested by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, to:
(1) Provide more clearly that a HELP applicant must be enrolled in a Department of Education-approved teacher education program at UH to receive a loan under HELP;
(2) Limit loan forgiveness under HELP to loan recipients who:
(A) Teach in a hard-to-fill position in a Hawaii public school as either:
(i) A qualified elementary school teacher; or
(ii) A qualified secondary school teacher in the subject area relevant to the recipient's major;
and
(B) Work in the public school system for at least ten consecutive years;
and
(3) Require that if the HELP recipient fails to abide by the ten-year qualification rule, the remaining loan and interest balance must be repaid at an interest rate of ten percent.
Your Committee also made technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,
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____________________________ DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair |
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