Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 656 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow school-level minor repair and maintenance (R&M) accounts to be used for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of components of a school's information infrastructure system.

Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Education. The Department of Accounting and General Services submitted comments.

Your Committee finds that a school's information system infrastructure is a critical component of today's teaching and learning environment. Your Committee further finds that allowing the school level R&M accounts to be used for repair and maintenance of school information systems, especially for those directly involved in teaching, is a cost-effective and necessary expense to ensure that student learning is not impeded.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 656, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 656, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.