STAND. COM. REP. NO.  456

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 619

      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 Public Safety & Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 619 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF VETERANS' SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to provide additional support for the Office of Veterans' Services.

     Specifically, this bill establishes one full-time permanent clerk typist II position within the Office of Veterans' Services and appropriates $33,230 in fiscal year 2007-2008 and fiscal year 2008-2009 to fund that position.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this bill from the Office of Veterans' Services and the Advisory Board on Veterans' Services.

     Your Committee finds that there is a pressing need to provide additional support to the Office of Veterans' Services to assist in processing a large backlog of unprocessed discharge documents.  The addition of a full-time clerk typist II position will address this issue.  In addition, your Committee finds that the Office of Veterans' Services requires additional funding support for travel expenses for the office's new traveling counselor.

     Accordingly, upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1)  Adding an appropriation of $8,000 for fiscal year 2007-2008 and fiscal year 2008-2009 to fund travel expenses of the traveling counselor of the Office of Veterans' Services; and

(2)  Changing the effective date of the bill to July 1, 2015, for the purpose of stimulating further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 619, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 619, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs,

____________________________

CINDY EVANS, Chair