STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2130

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2005

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2005 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE X, SECTION 6, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO MODIFY THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS FOR THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to propose a constitutional amendment to article X, section 6, of the Hawaii State Constitution to modify the appointment process for members of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Governor.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Regent Advisory Council of the University of Hawaii, Association of Emeritus Regents of the University of Hawaii, and three individuals. 

     Your Committee finds that since the establishment of the Candidate Advisory Council for the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii (Council) pursuant to a constitutional amendment in 2006, the Senate has denied the confirmation of candidates to the Board of Regents on several occasions.  This measure proposes a constitutional amendment to give the Governor the authority to more directly appoint highly qualified members to the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii rather than being obligated to appoint from a limited list of names provided by the Council.

Your Committee has amended this measure by revising the question to be printed on the ballot to more accurately describe the proposed amendment.  As amended, the ballot question posed is whether the constitutional requirement that the Governor make appointments to the Board of Regents from pools of candidates presented to the Governor by the Council should be repealed.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2005, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2005, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

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

____________________________

JILL TOKUDA, Chair