Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Military Affairs and Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 3054 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a revolving loan fund to finance charter school capital improvements, to provide a tax incentive to landlords renting or leasing land to a charter school, to encourage the State to enter into long-term leases of lands and buildings for charter school facilities, and to provide charter schools reimbursement for rent, lease, or mortgage payments.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from Innovations Public Charter School, Voyager Public Charter School, and Waialae Elementary Public Charter School. Comments in opposition to this measure were received from the Hawaii State Teachers Association. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation.

Your Committees find that using tax incentives to encourage public-private initiatives to help fund charter schools capital improvements would be a step in the right direction, and that more needs to be done to aid charter schools secure facility locations.

Your Committees have amended this measure by deleting the provisions regarding the landlord tax incentive and the charter schools reimbursement, and by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Military Affairs and Water, Land, and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3054, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3054, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.