Authorizes the board of regents to enter into and execute contracts with private entities for the development, construction, lease or purchase, and financing of facilities, university projects, or university systems. (SD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that economic difficulties have resulted in budget shortfalls, particularly in terms of capital expenditures for the construction of new facilities and housing for the University of Hawaii and community college systems. The legislature further finds that the utilization of public-private partnerships has resulted in a great deal of success for a number of years. Involvement of the private sector is beneficial in that it extends risk allocation from public institutions to the private sector for the designing, building, financing, and owning of a public facility or facilities.

The legislature further finds that the increasing enrollments experienced at the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus necessitated the establishment of the University of Hawaii West Oahu campus. However, the escalating need for higher education in the rapidly growing West Oahu region has in turn necessitated the development of a new West Oahu campus in Kapolei. Additionally, other areas of immediate concern to the university include the issues of a lack of adequate student housing at the Manoa campus and the need for the construction of a new cancer research center. The legislature finds that non-traditional alternatives for funding the construction and development of these types of facilities must be explored and utilized in order to expeditiously provide for the needs of our island's students.

The purpose of this Act is to authorize the board of regents of the University of Hawaii to enter into contracts with private entities for the construction of facilities, university projects, and university systems, particularly to expedite the construction of a four-year West Oahu campus, a new cancer research center, and additional student housing at the Manoa campus.

SECTION 2. Section 304-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§304-4 Powers of regents; official name. (a) The board of regents shall have management and control of the general affairs, and exclusive jurisdiction over the internal organization and management, of the university. It may appoint a treasurer and such other officers as it deems necessary. It may authorize any officer, elected or appointed by it, to approve and sign on its behalf any voucher or other document which the board may approve and sign. It may delegate to the president or the president's designee the authority to render the final decision in contested case proceedings subject to chapter 91, as it deems appropriate. It may purchase or otherwise acquire lands, buildings, appliances, and other property for the purposes of the university and expend such sums of money as may be from time to time placed at the disposal of the university from whatever source. All lands, buildings, appliances, and other property so purchased or acquired shall be and remain the property of the university to be used in perpetuity for the benefit of the university. The board of regents, in accordance with law, shall manage the inventory, equipment, surplus property, and expenditures of the university and, subject to chapter 91, may adopt rules, further controlling and regulating the same.

(b) The board may charge resident and nonresident tuition fees for regular courses of instruction at any University of Hawaii campus, including any community college.

The board may also charge other fees for special programs of instruction, as well as laboratory fees, course fees, fees for student activities, and an information technology user fee. The board may charge other fees for summer session or evening courses, including differential fees for nonresident students.

The board may waive entirely or reduce the tuition fee or any of the other fees for graduate teaching and research assistants. The board may enter into agreements with government and university officials of any other state or foreign country to provide for reciprocal waiver of the nonresident tuition and fee differential. The board may waive the nonresident tuition and fee differential for selected students from Pacific and Asian jurisdictions when their presence would be beneficial to the university or the State. The board may waive entirely or reduce the tuition fee or any of the other fees for students, resident or nonresident. The board shall determine the percentage of allowable tuition and fee waivers for financial need and other university priorities. These tuition waivers and waivers of the nonresident tuition and fee differential shall be awarded in accordance with guidelines established by the board.

(c) The board shall adopt the necessary rules defining residence for tuition purposes herein; provided that the basic rule shall be that a student shall qualify for the resident tuition fee only if the following criteria are met:

(d) The board shall develop internal policies and procedures for the procurement of goods, services, and construction, consistent with the goals of public accountability and public procurement practices, subject to chapter 103D.

(e) The board may enter into and execute contracts with any private entity to develop, construct, and finance, including the lease or purchase of facilities, and as defined and described in section 306-1, university projects or university systems.

[(e)] (f) The board may enter into concession agreements without regard to chapter 102.

[(f)] (g) The official name of the board shall be Board of Regents, University of Hawaii, and the board shall adopt and use a common seal by which all official acts shall be authenticated."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.