STAND. COM. REP. NO.  893

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 1530

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1530 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to recruit and retain qualified teachers and educational assistants to work in public schools in rural areas or in hard-to-fill positions by establishing:

(1)  An Educator and Educational Assistant Loan Forgiveness Program (Loan Forgiveness Program) for potential teachers and educational assistants who agree to work in rural schools, to be administered by the Department of Education (DOE);

(2)  A Hawaii Educational Assistant Loan Program (Loan Program) for potential educational assistants, to be administered by the University of Hawaii (UH), and providing for the gradual waiver of the loan as the loan recipient works as an educational assistant in a hard-to-fill public school position; and

(3)  Special funds for the Loan Forgiveness Program and Loan Program.

This bill also appropriates funds for the purposes of the two programs.

     The Hawaii State Teachers Association supported this bill.  DOE, UH, and Hawaii Government Employees Association supported the intent of this bill.  The Department of Budget and Finance opposed this bill.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1)  Providing that DOE will administer the Loan Forgiveness Program in partnership with a financial institution whose operations are principally conducted in Hawaii;

(2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2020, to encourage further discussion; and

(3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1530, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1530, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair