STAND. COM. REP. NO.  71-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   H.B. No. 2583

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2583 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to foster meaningful discourse regarding certain University of Hawaii (UH) matters, as matters of intense public interest and statewide concern, by:

     (1)  Prohibiting the UH Board of Regents (BOR) from withholding recommendations, draft documents, proposals, suggestions, or other opinion materials that comprise part of the deliberative process by which the BOR formulates its decisions and policies, including those relating to the UH budget;

     (2)  Requiring UH to publicly disclose the range of proposed compensation of executive and head athletic coaching positions at UH; and

     (3)  Requiring UH to include in its annual report to the Legislature the salaries paid to its head athletic coaches.

     The UH Professional Assembly and a concerned individual testified in support of this bill.  UH and the Office of Information Practices offered comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Inserting a provision that requires proposed compensation or any change in compensation for administrative positions in the UH system filled by excluded employees under chapter 89C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, be disclosed in open meeting for purposes of public comment;

     (2)  Requiring that the BOR, for administrative positions in the UH system filled by excluded employees, shall publicly disclose, no later than six business days before any related open meeting convened for the purposes of public comment, compensation offered to newly-hired employees and any changes in compensation offered to existing employees under chapter 89C, rather than the range of proposed compensation offered to persons under consideration for executive positions and head athletic coaching positions;

     (3)  Removing the requirement that BOR include in its annual report to the Legislature the salaries paid to its head athletic coaches; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2583, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2583, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Labor & Public Employment.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair