Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 58 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make a grant-in-aid to Helping Hands Hawaii, and to appropriate funds to the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) to establish one new position to coordinate public and private efforts to repair and maintain schools.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Education (DOE), DAGS, Hickam Elementary School, Waiahole School, Mililani Complex, Hawaii 3R's, Pacific Resource Partnership, American Society of Civil Engineers, Painter's Warehouse, Inc., URS Corporation, Kauai Economic Development Board, Hawaii Business Roundtable, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, and a private citizen.

Your Committee finds that the backlog of repair and maintenance projects in public schools continues to be of concern and that all means of addressing the problem should be explored and supported. To this end, Act 309, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, laid the foundation for Hawaii 3R's, a project of the private, nonprofit organization, Helping Hands Hawaii, by providing a $1,000,000 grant and funding a coordinator position in DAGS.

This measure that provides a $500,000 grant-in-aid to Helping Hands Hawaii, would be used to continue its school repair and maintenance effort, and continued funding for the coordinator position to DAGS to assist in coordinating the public and private construction effort.

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. 58 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.