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 S.B. No. 2429, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to support the efforts of the University of Hawaii (UH) Student Caucus by appropriating an unspecified sum to enable it to hold meetings with its member campuses and constituents.

The UH Student Caucus testified in support of this measure. UH also supported this bill, provided that its passage does not replace or adversely impact priorities in the executive biennium budget.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by deleting its substance and inserting the substance of H.B. No. 1710, H.D. 1, which was reported out earlier this session by your Committee. Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made to correct drafting errors. As amended, this bill enables more UH students to take advantage of the HOPE scholarship tax credit by:

(2) Appropriating $20,000,000 to the Fund.

Currently, UH provides tuition waivers to qualified students in lieu of scholarships. As amended, this bill will allow UH to provide scholarships which will then be paid back to UH as tuition. Providing scholarships instead of tuition waivers will have the additional benefit of allowing students or their families to take advantage of the federal HOPE Scholarship tax credit program, which counts scholarships, but not tuition waivers, as eligible expenses for the purpose of claiming the tax credit.

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 S.B. No. 2429, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2429,

S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.