Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1709 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate moneys to the University of Hawaii (UH) as state matching funds for the grant application for the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

UH and an individual submitted testimony in support of this bill.

Your Committee finds that UH has received nearly $40 million under EPSCoR to date, while investing only $1.5 million in matching funds. Funding provided under this bill will be likewise leveraged by UH to bring even more money into the State.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by changing the appropriation amount to $1 to facilitate further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1709, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1709, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.