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. 2286 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

by appropriating $142,000 in state matching funds to the Hawaii Commission for National and Community Service (Commission).

The University of Hawaii, members of the Hawaii Commission for National and Community Service, and concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.

Your Committee finds that the federal National Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (Act), among other things, mandated the establishment of a commission to receive federal funds under the Act. Thus, the Commission was established in 1994 and currently receives approximately $1,300,000 from the federal government.

These funds are used by the Commission to develop and communicate a vision of service and volunteerism throughout the state and provide volunteer services and community-based programs to benefit the people of Hawaii.

The Commission administers AmeriCorps, whose volunteers educate and support victims of domestic abuse; serve the elderly through services including the Meals on Wheels Program; and perform endangered species restoration, invasive species removal, native forest recovery, coastal clean-up, aquatic resource management, and trail building and management.

The Commission also administers a community-based service learning program that helps community agencies, educators, and Hawaii's youth network work together to meet community needs and address community problems and that serves to develop the capacity of our youth to act as empowered leaders and active citizens.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

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. 2286, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2286, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.