STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2149

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2977

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2977 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to create a five‑year pilot project within the Department of Education authorizing the Department to contract for the design, planning, and installation of fourth generation modular design buildings to maximize resources and better meet the growing and changing needs of Hawaii's public school campuses.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that the needs and enrollment in Hawaii's public schools have shifted and changed over time.  Many schools are at capacity and do not have the facilities to adequately handle continued growth, while others struggle to find space to deliver needed programs and services.

     Your Committee further finds that fourth generation modular design building systems, such as the Sprout Space classrooms designed by the company Perkins+Will, are designed to enhance student learning by incorporating sustainable green building strategies that reduce energy costs, reduce construction costs, provide flexibility, and create healthier learning environments.  This measure authorizes the Department of Education to pursue options for similar fourth general modular design building systems for Hawaii's public schools.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

     If this measure is considered for passage by your Committee on Ways and Means, your Committee has asked the Department of Education to provide information on the amount of funding it will need to carry out the pilot project.

     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. 2977, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2977, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair