Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2741 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a state income tax checkoff block on the State's tax return form to allow public support for educator scholarships.

Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure from the Department of Education, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and comments on this measure from Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that public education faces a critical shortage of teachers in the coming decade. These scholarships will allow students to obtain their teaching degrees, and then these educators would be expected to teach in the Hawaii public school system for at least four years. The program would help ensure that there will be an adequate number of well-trained teachers to benefit the children in our public school system.

Your Committee has amended this measure by using the term "refund" rather than "liability" to prevent a reduction of revenues going to the general fund. Nonsubstantive, technical amendments have been made as well.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2741, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2741, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.