STAND. COM. REP. NO. 666

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1145

       S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 1145 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SCHOOL REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate a grant to the Hawaii 3R's school repair and maintenance program.  Additionally, the measure appropriates funds for a Hawaii 3R's program coordinator position within the Department of Education.

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

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii 3R's has saved the State money by completing repair and maintenance projects at public schools.  The program generates savings for the State by leveraging state grant funds with federal funds, private donations, and volunteer programs from various community organizations and businesses.

     Accordingly, your Committee recognizes that it is necessary to continue to provide funding for Hawaii 3R's to fund grants that cannot be funded through Hawaii 3R's other funding sources. Additionally, your Committee finds that funding the program coordinator position to coordinate public and private efforts to repair and maintain public schools will contribute to the continued success of the Hawaii 3R's program.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the amount of the appropriations to an unspecified sum to facilitate further discussion.

     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 S.B. No. 1145, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1145, S.D. 1.

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

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair