STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 239-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 1893

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Higher Education and Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1893 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to require the Hawaii P-20 Council to establish a trust fund to receive moneys and provide scholarships under the federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs program (GEAR UP).

The University of Hawaii (UH), Hawaii State Teachers Association, and an individual submitted testimony in support of this bill.

Your Committees find that the GEAR UP program can help low-income students afford a college education. However, there are federal requirements that must be met for the State to accept GEAR UP funds. This bill will provide the framework to allow the State to participate in the GEAR UP program.

Your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying language to ensure compliance with federal requirements, including:

(A) Specifying that UH shall establish and manage the trust fund;

(B) Deleting legislative appropriations and public and private contributions as funding sources for the trust fund;

(D) Deleting specifications regarding the use of moneys in the trust fund; and

(E) Specifying that the trust fund and trustees of the trust fund are not public entities;

and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of style and clarity.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Higher Education and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1893, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1893, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Higher Education and Education,

____________________________ ROY M. TAKUMI, Chair		____________________________ K. MARK TAKAI, Chair