Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1396 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds and appropriate funds for the repair and maintenance of state educational facilities.

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Department of Education and the General Contractors Association of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Education has a longstanding backlog of repair and maintenance projects. Over the years, a number of funding mechanisms have been implemented to assist the department in lowering the list of projects. This measure attempts to further reduce the backlog by appropriating additional bond funding at a time when the municipal bond interest rates are at an all time low and would be a prudent fiscal policy.

Your Committee feels that strong efforts must be made to assist in the reduction of the project backlog and therefore has increased the bond appropriation to $200,000,000.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1396, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1396, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.