STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 173-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2033

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 Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2033 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BRIDGE TO HOPE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

(1) Allow participants in the Temporary Assistance to Other Needy Families (TAONF) waiver program, consisting of low-income, two-parent families, to obtain benefits under the Bridge to Hope Program, which expands existing student employment opportunities at University of Hawaii campuses; and

(2) Appropriate $300,000 to the Bridge to Hope Program for fiscal year 2004-2005.

Bridge to Hope, National Association of Social Workers, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this measure.

Your Committee finds that Bridge to Hope offers temporary assistance until people can develop the skills needed to become self-sufficient. Your Committee believes that eligibility for this Program should be expanded, because it represents a worthy investment by the State that will reduce future governmental costs while it helps individuals qualify for jobs that support their families, and move them out of poverty.

Your Committee has amended this bill by replacing the appropriation with $1 to allow 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. 2033, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2033, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,

		____________________________ K. MARK TAKAI, Chair