Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1710, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a student scholarship and assistance special fund to be administered by the University of Hawaii.

Specifically, the special fund will be used to provide financial assistance, including scholarships, to qualified University of Hawaii system students and will be funded by state, federal, institutional, and private funds. The special fund is not intended to provide loans.

Additionally, this measure transfers $20,000,000 of general funds to the special fund, and appropriates the same amount out of the special fund for the purposes of the fund.

Furthermore, this measure repeals the requirement pertaining to the University of Hawaii tuition and fees special fund that the report must address tuition waivers and financial assistance granted to financial needy students from underrepresented ethnic groups.

Your Committee finds that the University of Hawaii presently provides most of its financial assistance to students in the form of tuition waivers but is considering switching to scholarships as the main form of assistance, in conformity with the common practice nationwide among other universities. Your Committee also finds that financial assistance through scholarships will enable families to obtain tax benefits that they otherwise would not be able to obtain through tuition waivers. Accordingly, your Committee finds that this measure will assist the University of Hawaii in restructuring its means of providing financial assistance to students.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the scholarship and assistance special fund's initial source of funding from the general fund to the University of Hawaii tuition and fees special fund and by changing the appropriation figure from $20,000,000 to a blank amount. Your Committee has also amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2040 for the purposes of continued discussion of the matter.

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. 1710, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1710, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.