STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1476

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 15

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 15, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to create a Felix stipend program special fund.

Payments from students who have breached their contractual obligations under the Felix stipend program will be deposited into the fund.  Moneys in the fund will be used to provide tuition assistance to students in the Felix consent decree recruitment and retention program.  The bill also appropriates moneys to be deposited into the fund.

     Comments in support of this measure were submitted by the University of Hawaii and the Department of Education.  Comments in opposition to this measure were submitted by the Department of Budget and Finance.

     Your Committee finds that the creation of the Felix stipend program special fund would enable the Department of Education to recover stipend funds from students who fail to meet their obligatory teaching obligations and would make those recovered funds available to new special education teacher candidates.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 15, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 15, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair