STAND. COM. REP. NO.3308
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2002
RE: H.B. No. 2654
H.D. 2
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2002
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2654, H.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GOVERNMENT,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to establish a loss mitigation grant program, authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds for the Hawaii hurricane relief fund, transfer funds from the hurricane reserve trust fund to the general fund, and appropriate funds to various state programs.
Your Committee finds that following the September 11 incident, it is necessary to take unusual and, perhaps, painful steps to address the current budget shortfall and prevent further losses in vital state programs such as lower and higher education. Specifically, your Committee finds that it is necessary to make the best possible use of all available resources, including funds from the inactive hurricane reserve trust fund.
Your Committee has amended this measure as follows:
(1) Replacing the contents of part I, on the pilot loss mitigation grant program, with a modified version of the grant program from S.B. No. 2172, S.D. 2. As amended, part I codifies the grant program in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to spend $30,000,000 from the loss mitigation grant fund for the grant program over a three-year period, and establishes a technical advisory committee. Furthermore, this measure authorizes moneys in the hurricane reserve trust fund to be deposited into the loss mitigation grant fund, and increases from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 the amount of funds to be transferred from the hurricane reserve trust fund to the loss mitigation grant fund;
(2) Amending part II by changing from $100,000,000 to $50,000,000 the authorization amount of the general obligation bonds to be used to recapitalize the hurricane reserve trust fund, and by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments;
(3) Amending part III by changing from $100,000,000 to $55,072,973 the amount to be transferred from the hurricane reserve trust fund to the general fund; and
(4) Replacing the contents of part IV, which makes appropriations for various state programs, with general fund appropriations totaling $55,072,973 for Board of Education priorities, various education initiatives, restoration of reductions to the Department of Education's discretionary budget contained in H.B. No. 1800, S.D. 1, various grants-in-aid, a lump sum appropriation to the University of Hawaii, and partial annual payment of debt service for capital improvement projects related to the Department of Education.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2654, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2654, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
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