CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 180
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: S.B. No. 1257
S.D. 2
H.D. 2
C.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1257, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII,"
having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.
The purpose of this bill is to improve the governance of the University of Hawaii (UH) by, among other things:
(1) Modifying the process of appointing the members of the UH Board of Regents (BOR) by establishing a Candidate Advisory Council (Council) to determine the criteria for, screen, and propose qualified candidates from which the Governor can choose;
(2) Changing the number of BOR members from 12 to 11;
(3) Removing the prohibition that no more than six members of the BOR may be members of the same political party;
(4) Specifying the geographic areas that must be represented by a certain number of BOR members;
(5) Modifying the length of service of each BOR member from four-year terms to no more than two consecutive five-year terms;
(6) Establishing that at least three months prior to the conclusion of the member's first five-year term, the Senate must consider the question of whether to reconfirm the member's position on the BOR; and
(7) Clarifying that every BOR member may serve beyond the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor has been appointed, has qualified, and has been confirmed by the Senate.
Your Committee on Conference has amended this bill by changing the Council as follows:
(1) Requiring the Council to recommend candidates for each seat on the BOR within 120 days prior to the expiration of a term;
(2) Requiring the Council, in recommending candidates for the BOR, to require a candidate to disclose any existing or anticipated contracts with UH or any existing or anticipated financial transactions with UH;
(3) Changing the membership of the Council to seven members, who will be appointed without regard to section 26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), as follows:
(a) Removing the members appointed by UH's Native Hawaiian Council, Pu Ko'a; the UH Professional Assembly; Hawaii Government Employees Association; Hawaii State Bar Association; and UH Foundation; and
(b) Adding a member to be appointed by the Association of Emeritus Regents;
(4) Requiring the Council to be selected and to operate in a wholly nonpartisan manner;
(5) Requiring appointees to the Council to be individuals who are widely viewed as having placed the broad public interest ahead of special interests and have achieved a high level of prominence in their profession and are respected by the community;
(6) Providing for staggered terms on the Council by requiring that the three members initially appointed to the Council by the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, serve for terms of two years;
(7) In the case of a vacancy on the Council:
(a) Requiring a successor to be appointed in the same manner and subject to the same qualifications as the person's predecessor; and
(b) Requiring the successor to serve for the remainder of the term of the person's predecessor;
(8) Prohibiting individuals from running for or holding any other elected office under the United States, the State, or its political subdivisions, while a member of the Council;
(9) Specifying that a majority of the Council constitutes a quorum to do business, and the concurrence of a majority of all the members to which the Council is entitled is necessary to make any action of the Council valid;
(10) Requiring the Council to meet annually and at other times as necessary and exempting its meetings from the Sunshine Law, chapter 92, HRS; and
(11) Specifying that Council members are to serve without compensation but will be reimbursed for expenses necessary for the performance of their duties.
Your Committee on Conference has also amended this bill by changing the BOR as follows:
(1) Increasing its membership from 12 to 15 members;
(2) Providing for staggered terms on the BOR by requiring the Governor to reduce the terms of those initially appointed to each seat on the BOR so as to provide, as far as practicable, for the expiration of three terms each year, excluding the student member;
(3) Providing that at least ten members, except for the student member, shall represent specific geographic areas;
(4) Clarifying that the term of each BOR member shall be for five years except as provided for the initial appointment in section 26-11, HRS;
(5) Allowing a BOR member to serve beyond the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor has been appointed and confirmed by the Senate, rather than until the successor has been appointed, has qualified, and has been confirmed by the Senate; and
(6) Clarifying that BOR members shall serve no more than two consecutive five-year terms, and if a member is to be appointed to a second term, the Senate must consider the question of whether or not to reconfirm the member at least 120 days prior to the conclusion of the member's first term.
Finally, your Committee on Conference has amended this bill by:
(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2007; provided that section 1 shall take effect upon the ratification of the constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the Council; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.
The intent of your Committee on Conference is to improve the BOR member selection process by ensuring, as much as practicable, that the candidates for the BOR are well-qualified individuals who will place the health and vitality of UH and its students, faculty, and administration above personal gain and to remove as much political influence or pressure as possible from the process.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1257, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1257, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:
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ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE |
ON THE PART OF THE SENATE |
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____________________________ TOMMY WATERS, Co-Chair |
____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair |
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____________________________ BLAKE K. OSHIRO, Co-Chair |
____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Co-Chair |
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____________________________ SCOTT NISHIMOTO, Co-Chair |
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