STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1566

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 779

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 779, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

Board of Education

G.M. No. 779

BRIAN DELIMA, for a term to expire 6-30-2016,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by the nominee and finds Brian De Lima to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated to the Board of Education.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Brian De Lima from the Governor; Board of Education; Hui for Excellence in Education; Special Education Advisory Council; Keaukaha Community Association; United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO; ILWU Local 142; and twenty-six individuals.  Your Committee received comments from one individual.

     Your Committee finds that Brian De Lima is a graduate of Hilo High School and served as the Board of Education's first student member in 1972.  He then went on to receive his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his Juris Doctorate degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

     Mr. De Lima is an experienced trial attorney and a partner at the law firm of Crudele & De Lima.  He served for nearly a decade as the private bar attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii in Hilo.  Mr. De Lima continues to provide pro bono legal services for family law clients and participates in the Hawaii Lawyers Care Family Law Clinic.  Mr. De Lima has been recognized and honored as having the highest number of pro bono hours among attorneys in Hilo.

     Mr. De Lima also served three terms as a member of the Hawai‘i County Council and has extensive knowledge in planning, land use development, public works, and government financing.

     Mr. De Lima has been serving on the Board of Education since 2011, representing the island of Hawaii and serving as the Board's Vice Chair.  He has proven himself to be extremely passionate about public education and always takes the time to examine and understand the issues before the Board of Education.  Mr. De Lima believes that the Board of Education has been aggressively addressing various issues facing the Department of Education.  He helped lead the effort to establish a comprehensive strategic plan that focuses on student achievement.  He was also instrumental in the effort to adopt an audit plan for the Department of Education.

     Mr. De Lima further testified that his goal as a member of the Board of Education is to continue to work cooperatively with the members of the Board, Department of Education, and all stakeholders to continue to improve public education in the State.  Mr. De Lima also hopes that, as a parent of a special needs child, he can continue to be a voice for parents of special needs children to the Board of Education.

     Mr. De Lima's professional background, community involvement, and his current service as a member of the Board of Education provide him with the skills and insight necessary to continue to be an effective member of the Board of Education.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

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

____________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair