SB3121 HD1

Report Title:

University of Hawaii; Scholarship Program; Hawaii Scholars

Description:

Establishes a Department of Transportation, Civil Engineering scholarship program, Hawaii State Scholars Program, State Eminent Scholars Special Fund, and the William S. Richardson School of Law Public Interest Law Loan Repayment Program Special Fund at the University of Hawaii. Appropriates funds for the programs. (SB3121 HD1)

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3121
TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 78, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated to read as follows:

"§78- Department of transportation; civil engineering scholarship program. (a) The department of transportation may establish a civil engineering scholarship program open to high school graduates of accredited high schools in Hawaii, or high school graduates who are residents of Hawaii and who have successfully completed a high school pre-college curriculum. The department of transportation, highways division, shall establish, without regard to chapter 91, the criteria and guidelines for the scholarship program that shall include but not be limited to the qualification requirements, conditions for the scholarship, reimbursement provisions, and alternate options in which a scholarship participant may participate to otherwise fulfill their employment obligation under a scholarship agreement, if the participant is not hired by the department of transportation, highways division.

(b) The tuition component amount of a civil engineering scholarship award shall be limited to the resident tuition cost of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

(c) Students awarded scholarships shall agree by contract, with the written approval of a parent or guardian when the applicant is under eighteen years of age, to apply for full-time civil service employment with the department of transportation, highways division, immediately after graduation from an accredited civil engineering program at the University of Hawaii and, accept any position offered, and if hired, complete one year of full-time employment with the department of transportation, highways division, for each school year in the scholarship program. A participant who fails to:

(1) Graduate from an accredited civil engineering program at the University of Hawaii; or

(2) Apply for employment with the department of transportation, highways division, immediately upon graduation as provided in this subsection or in subsection (f); or

(3) Accept any position offered by the department of transportation, highways division,

shall reimburse the department of transportation, highways division, the full amount of moneys received.

(d) A participant who leaves the department of transportation, highways division, before completing the required number of years of employment shall reimburse the department of transportation, highways division, the full amount of scholarship moneys received by the participant for each year of scholarship that corresponds to each year for which the participant fails to complete the employment requirement.

(e) Summer employment may be offered by the department of transportation, highways division, to scholarship students. The department of transportation, highways division, shall establish guidelines to effectuate this subsection.

(f) The department of transportation’s guidelines for this program will address situations where participants may wish to postpone their work commitment to pursue a masters degree in civil engineering."

SECTION 2. Chapter 304, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§304- Hawaii state scholars program. (a) There is established the Hawaii state scholars program to be administered by the University of Hawaii. This program shall be used to provide financial assistance in the form of scholarships for up to four years to any qualified student enrolled at any campus of the University of Hawaii with the possibility of renewal for a fifth year in exceptional circumstances.

(b) Appropriations for the state scholars program shall be deposited into the University of Hawaii student scholarship and assistance special fund established pursuant to section 304-16.6. The number of scholarships awarded and amount of each scholarship shall be determined by the university and subject to the availability of funds.

The University of Hawaii shall offer scholarships to pay for educational costs, such as tuition, fees, books, housing, and other educational costs; provided that the scholarship applicant:

(1) Is a bona fide resident of the State of Hawaii, for tuition purposes, at the time of admission to the university;

(2) Presents evidence of academic excellence by meeting one or more of the following:

(A) Graduation from a public or private high school in the State of Hawaii as a valedictorian of the applicant's class;

(B) Has a cumulative high school grade point average of 4.0 as determined for admission to the university; or

(C) Has achieved a test score on a standardized college admission test recognized and accepted by the university for admission consideration, such as SAT or ACT, that places the student among the top ten percentile of students taking the test nationwide;

(3) Enrolls at a University of Hawaii system campus within eighteen months of graduating from high school; and

(4) Maintains satisfactory progress toward degree completion and a cumulative 3.0 grade point average."

SECTION 3. Chapter 304, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§304- State eminent scholars special fund. (a) There is established a state eminent scholars special fund, into which shall be deposited appropriations made by the state legislature and matching private donations. The fund shall be used as a funding mechanism to create new endowed faculty positions funded by a combination of state and private funds. The board of regents shall adopt rules as necessary to establish this program. No state appropriations deposited into the fund shall be expended unless matched by private funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

(b) To be eligible for state matching funds, a University of Hawaii campus chancellor shall submit a proposal for each proposed endowed chair to the president of the University of Hawaii for review and consideration. The president of the University of Hawaii shall take into account the following criteria before approving state matching funds to establish a position and recruit candidates:

(1) The ability for the position to contribute to Hawaii's economic development;

(2) The ability for the position to make a significant contribution to the university's academic quality; and

(3) The ability for the position to obtain significant amounts of annual research from highly competitive grant sources.

(c) The review process shall consider the field and its potential funding sources, relationship to existing research at the University of Hawaii and in the State of Hawaii, size and scope of related industries, and other relevant factors.

(d) The University of Hawaii shall prepare and submit an annual report on the status of the eminent scholars special fund to the legislature at least twenty days before the convening of each regular session."

SECTION 4. Chapter 304, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§304- Public interest law loan repayment program; special fund; established. (a) As used in this section:

"Administrator" means an assistant or associate dean of the William S. Richardson school of law of the University of Hawaii, in consultation with the dean of the William S. Richardson school of law of the University of Hawaii.

"Advisory committee" means the committee responsible for proposing policy and guideline recommendations for approval by the administrator.

"Eligible loans" means all need-based federal, university, and educational loans incurred during the recipient's law school education that are not eligible for forgiveness or repayment assistance through another source. These loans include those owed to government sources, commercial lending institutions, or educational institutions, which are used to cover law school tuition and other reasonable expenses associated directly with the costs of education, such as books, equipment, fees, room and board, and other expenses determined by the administrator. Educational loans extended by a private individual or family member are not considered eligible loans for the purposes of this section.

(b) There shall be established a public interest law loan repayment program to be:

(1) Maintained by the William S. Richardson school of law of the University of Hawaii; and

(2) Administered by the administrator.

(c) To be considered for loan repayment assistance under the public interest law loan repayment program, an attorney shall:

(1) Have graduated from the William S. Richardson school of law of the University of Hawaii;

(2) Be licensed to practice law in the state under chapter 605; and

(3) Practice law in the public interest in the state, as determined by the administrator in consultation with the advisory committee, including but not limited to providing direct legal services through:

(A) A legal services organization that serves clients more than seventy per cent of whom are low-income persons according to applicable federal income guidelines;

(B) The department of the prosecuting attorney of any county;

(D) The office of the state public defender; and

(E) A non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(d) The administrator shall make loan repayment assistance available to eligible attorneys on a biannual basis. As a condition of receiving such assistance, the attorney shall sign a written commitment with the public interest law loan repayment program in which the attorney shall agree to practice in a qualifying organization for a minimum of three years. In addition, the attorney shall notify the administrator in writing within thirty days of the date the attorney:

(1) Leaves employment with the qualifying organization; or

(2) Takes a leave of absence from the qualifying organization.

(e) In consultation with the advisory committee, the administrator shall:

(1) Determine the total amount of annual loan repayment assistance available under the public interest law loan repayment program; and

(2) Establish selection criteria for eligibility for the program based upon need and merit.

The administrator shall use the following two-tiered approach in determining the priority of applicants and amount of loan repayment assistance provided:

(1) First, the demonstrated need of the applicant, which shall be based on the applicant's salary, personal resources, and amount of law school debt; and

(2) Second, the legal practice in areas where the need for public interest attorneys in the state is high.

After using the two-tiered approach, the administrator shall use, but is not limited to, the following criteria for selecting among the applicants for the program:

(1) The applicant's commitment to public interest law, to be determined by reviewing the applicant's record of employment and volunteer services, taking into consideration an applicant's need for remunerative employment while attending law school; and

(2) The applicant's record of academic achievement.

The applicant shall provide to the public interest law loan repayment program the information listed above and other information as required, in an application form to be prepared by the program.

(f) The advisory committee shall comprise nine members appointed by the administrator, including but not limited to:

(1) Attorneys licensed to practice law in the state, particularly those practicing law in the public interest;

(2) Faculty members of the William S. Richardson school of law of the University of Hawaii;

(3) Members of the general public; and

(4) A student representative of the William S. Richardson school of law of the University of Hawaii.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create in any attorney a right to any loan repayment assistance or any specific amount of assistance offered under the public interest law loan repayment program.

(h) There shall be established a special fund to be known as the William S. Richardson school of law public interest law loan repayment program special fund, into which all appropriations, donations, and gifts shall be deposited. The administrator may use any amount of the moneys in the fund to provide eligible attorneys with loan repayment assistance. Upon determination by the administrator, the fiscal officer of the William S. Richardson school of law of the University of Hawaii shall disburse payments to eligible attorneys. The administrator shall submit an annual report to the legislature of an accounting of the program and the fund at least twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session."

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the highways special fund, highways administration, (TRN 595) the sum of $100,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 to implement the department of transportation’s engineering scholarship program.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of transportation, highways division, for the purposes of section 1 of this Act.

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 for the purposes of section 2 of this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be deposited into the student scholarship and assistance special fund established pursuant to section 304-16.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for scholarships for the Hawaii state scholars program.

SECTION 7. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $5,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 for the state eminent scholars special fund.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of section 3 of this Act.

SECTION 8. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $200,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 for the William S. Richardson school of law public interest law loan repayment program.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the William S. Richardson school of law public interest law loan repayment program for the purpose of section 4 of this Act.

SECTION 9. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.