STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1463

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   S.B. No. 1931

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Economic Development & Business Concerns, to which was referred S.B. No. 1931, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to ensure the availability of a qualified workforce in Hawaii by:

     (1)  Establishing and appropriating funds for a 12-member Educational Workforce Working Group (Working Group) under the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT), to examine and address workforce-related education issues;

     (2)  Requiring the Department of Education (DOE) to include in its strategic plan, plans for workforce-related needs;

     (3)  Requiring the University of Hawaii (UH) to submit a report to the Legislature on its workforce development efforts; and

     (4)  Appropriating funds for positions to assist DOE with its workforce development efforts.

     UH testified in support of this bill.  DBEDT and DOE testified in support of the intent of this measure.

     Currently, workforce needs in the State are not being adequately met and the situation is only expected to worsen due to the aging of the "baby boomer" generation.  It is also unclear as to whether comprehensive, focused, and concerted educational efforts for workforce development are being undertaken by the DOE and the UH System.  As education is the key to the development of an adequate workforce, determining how these educational needs are being met and what can be done to better meet the current and future workforce needs of the State is an important first step in finding a solution to this problem.

Although other entities currently exist to address workforce development issues, there is still a cohesive lack of understanding as to the educational needs and requirements facing the development of Hawaii's workforce.  The establishment of a working group to explore and report to the Legislature on these educational issues will allow the Legislature to develop a more focused approach to meeting Hawaii's future workforce needs.

     However, your Committees understand the concerns raised by DOE, that as currently drafted, the bill may overlap current DOE initiatives and notes that DOE is willing to work with the Committee on Finance to ensure that the language of this measure allows these initiatives to complement and enhance the work of the Working Group.

     Your Committees also note that DBEDT requested that the Workforce Development Council (WDC), currently placed within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) for administrative purposes, be transferred to DBEDT in order to better facilitate workforce development in Hawaii.  Accordingly, your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1)  Inserting language transferring administrative oversight of the WDC from DLIR to DBEDT; and

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

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Economic Development & Business Concerns that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1931, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Finance, in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1931, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Economic Development & Business Concerns,

____________________________ KYLE T. YAMASHITA, Chair

____________________________ ALEX M. SONSON, Chair