(1) Increases nursing recruitment and class size by increasing faculty and program support, student services, and technical and coordination support;

(2) Increases enrollment in the graduate nursing program at both the master's and doctoral levels;

(3) Addresses the faculty shortage with salary adjustments to achieve parity with the market rate for nurses in hospitals and faculty in private universities; and

(4) Expands the current distance and simulation learning program while maintaining high quality and rigor.

(1) Utility and maintenance expenses, originally proposed in H.B. No. 3158. Your Committee finds that the University of Hawaii has a number of newly renovated buildings at its Manoa campus. This, along with the dramatic rise in oil prices, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the cost of electricity. Funds to address this unexpected need were not provided, and the University was forced to reallocate resources to provide for the additional costs, as well as expenses for sewage and maintenance. This bill would provide the necessary funds to address this budgetary shortfall.

The University of Hawaii supported the intent of H.B. No. 3158; provided that the appropriation did not adversely impact priorities in the Board of Regents' approved executive supplemental budget. The President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii also testified in support of H.B. No. 3158.

(2) The Colleges of Arts and Sciences, originally proposed in H.B. No. 3164. Your Committee finds that, since the fall of 2000, the Colleges of Arts and Sciences has increased by 5,507 students, an increase of fifty-five per cent in six years. This measure provides the necessary funds to address the need for additional faculty, advisers, information technology specialists, financial aid and student services staff, and related costs and expenses.

The University of Hawaii's Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, the Dean of the College of Social Sciences, the Interim Dean of the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature, academic advisors for the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, the President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii, and a multitude of students attending the University of Hawaii testified in support of H.B. No. 3164.

(3) Campus Security, originally proposed in H.B. No. 3161. Your Committee finds that the University of Hawaii at Manoa is currently facing a campus security staffing shortage due to: staff on military leave, September 11, 2001 concerns, and other staffing problems. This measure appropriates funds to provide the necessary funding to increase the number of security personnel on the Manoa campus to provide a secure and safe environment.

The University of Hawaii Vice Chancellor for Administration, Finance and Operations testified in support of H.B. No. 3161. A senator from the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii testified in support of this measure with recommended amendments. Two University of Hawaii at Manoa students testified in opposition to this measure, citing security guard harassment, and suggested the implementation of safety enhancing measures such as increased lighting and sensor outposts to ensure around-the-clock patrolling of outlying campus areas.

(4) The College of Natural Sciences, originally proposed in H.B. No. 3159. Your Committee finds that the College of Natural Sciences represents ten per cent of the student population and enrollment has increased sixty per cent in the last thirteen years. This measure would restore teaching positions and provide needed funds for laboratories, equipment, and other new technologies and to update research facilities.

The University of Hawaii Interim Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, the Chairperson of the Department of Zoology, the Director of the Marine Option Program, the Pacific Cooperative Studies program, professors of zoology and microbiology, a master's degree candidate, and numerous University of Hawaii at Manoa undergraduates testified in support of H.B. No. 3159.

(5) Extending the operating hours of Hamilton Library, originally proposed in H.B. No. 3162. Your Committee finds that the University of Hawaii Hamilton Library is the only major research library in the State. During a nine-week pilot project, the library found that four thousand people used the library from the hours of 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M., the hours the library is usually closed. This measure would provide the necessary funding to allow the library to extend its hours to accommodate the needs of students.

The University of Hawaii Librarian and the President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii testified in support of this measure.

(6) Student-run television, originally proposed in H.B. No. 3166. Student-run television programming is an essential component needed to raise the instructional capabilities within the School of Communications. Student run television programming would provide hands-on experience and theoretical groundings that would assure Hawaii's students of a well-rounded and sophisticated journalistic experience.

A University of Hawaii professor in the School of Communications and numerous University of Hawaii undergraduates in the School of Communication testified in support of H.B. No. 3166.

(7) Native Hawaiian initiatives, originally proposed in H.B. No. 3157. Your Committee finds that the Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii has an undergraduate program of eighty-five students, a new master's degree program with eighteen students, and provides instruction for more than one thousand students each semester. At present, the Hawaiian language program is severely understaffed and operates without a secretary and, as of last year, without the services of an academic advisor. The Center's curriculum is attentive to the issues and interests of the native Hawaiian people, develops students' potential, and supports community leaders to build the next generation of Hawaiian scholars interested in the issues that affect all Hawaiians.

The University of Hawaii, the Director of the Kamakakoukalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, the Chair of the University of Hawaii Department of Political Science, the Director, Assistant Director, and Project Director of Na Pua Noeau, the Kualii Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, Pae Aina Communications LLP, the Programs Coordinator of the Hoyokulaiwi Center for Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Education, the President of the Na Kuyauhau yo Kahiwakaneikapolei, Ka lei Papahi o Kahuhihewa, Ike Ao Pono, Kamakakoukalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, the College of Education, Department of Curriculum Studies, Nanaikapono Elementary School, a curriculum coordinator, a teacher, an employee, University of Hawaii Ph.D Candidates, master's degree candidates, and a concerned citizen testified in support of this measure. The Chairperson of the Budget Subcommittee for the Kualii Native Hawaiian Advisory Council and the Pukao Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, an Associate Professor in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center and a member of the Kualii Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, an associate professor at the College of Education, an assistant specialist of the University of Hawaii Curriculum Studies Department, and a student in the Masters of Education in Teaching Program testified in support of this measure with suggested amendments.