STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.2555

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.B. No. 2033

S.D. 2

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 S.B. No. 2033, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII EDUCATOR LOAN PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend the Hawaii educator loan program by:

(1) Reducing, from ten years to six years, the period for forgiving loans from the program, and correspondingly changing the amounts forgiven by forgiving one-tenth of the amount of the loan for each of the first five years and five-tenths of the loan for the sixth year;

(2) Setting a ceiling for the appropriation;

(3) Authorizing up to five per cent of the total amount of outstanding loans to be spent for administrative expenses; and

(4) Exempting the University of Hawaii from the public notice and hearing requirements of the Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act, in its adoption of rules to implement the Hawaii educator loan program.

The measure appropriates $200,000 for fiscal year 2002-2003 to implement the program.

Your Committee finds that this measure is intended to address the current teacher shortage problem faced by Hawaii's public school system by encouraging college students to become public school teachers in Hawaii and to remain in the public school system for at least six years. Your Committee finds that teachers are more likely to remain in the profession after five years. Thus, shortening the forgiveness period from ten years to six years will facilitate both the State's recruitment and retention of qualified and committed teachers.

Your Committee has amended the measure by:

(1) Deleting the amount of the appropriation to be deposited into the Hawaii educator loan program; and

(2) Deleting the amount of the appropriation from the Hawaii educator loan program special fund;

in order to encourage further discussion on this measure.

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 S.B. No. 2033, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2033, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

		____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair