STAND. COM. REP. NO.  56

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 372

      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 Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 372 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to promote the civil engineering profession and enhance the recruitment and retention of civil engineers in the Department of Transportation (DOT) by providing financial assistance, on-the-job training, and educational opportunities to qualified students in Hawaii.

     DOT, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the College of Engineering of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, American Society of Civil Engineers, Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association, and Hawaii Highway Users Alliance testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Education supported the intent of this measure.

      Enrollment in engineering programs, at both the national and local levels, has been declining over the years.  This decline has resulted in a shortage of engineers of all disciplines throughout the United States, a shortage that is only expected to increase as many current engineers begin to retire.  Your Committee finds that locally, DOT must compete with both private-sector consulting firms and other government agencies in attracting and retaining qualified engineers in an already tight job market.  The establishment of a civil engineering scholarship program is a novel way to promote careers in transportation planning, design, and construction.

     However, your Committee notes that, while the Highways Division of DOT is the DOT program area that requires the largest number of civil engineers, both the Airports Division and Harbors Division face a need to hire entry-level civil engineers, and this scholarship program may assist these divisions as well. 

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Broadening the scope of the program to include the             Airports and Harbors divisions of DOT; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 372, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 372, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Higher Education.

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

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair