STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1133

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 116

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Water and Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 116, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the City and County of Honolulu to transfer to the Department of Land and Natural Resources all property upon which a public school is situated.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Building Industry Association of Hawaii, and Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, and Department of Parks and Recreation of the City and County of Honolulu.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

     Your Committees find that the Department of Education has managed county school lands throughout the State since 1965.  Your Committees further find that many public schools in Hawaii require extensive renovation or rebuilding, and that this process is unnecessarily complicated by having state schools on county land, or situated on both county and state land.  Your Committees additionally find that transferring a fee simple interest for county school lands to the State will greatly simplify the process of undertaking much needed repairs and renovations.  Your Committees also find that an extension of the pilot program for the lease of public school land established by Act 155, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, would further facilitate the updating of Hawaii's public schools.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting a purpose section to provide historical context;

     (2)  Removing language relating to the method of conveyance of the properties and instead requiring the City and County of Honolulu to prepare, execute, and record a quitclaim deed for each parcel of property to be transferred;

     (3)  Appropriating monies in a blank amount as a grant-in-aid to the City and County of Honolulu for costs associated with preparing, executing, and recording the quitclaim deeds;

     (4)  Requiring the Department of Land and Natural Resources to divide any parcels of property that contain parks as part of the parcel to separate the parks from the property transferred;

     (5)  Requiring the City and County of Honolulu to transfer properties containing high schools and intermediate schools on December 31, 2018, and properties containing elementary schools on December 31, 2019;

     (6)  Extending the twenty-first century schools pilot project by an additional five years; and

     (7)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Water and Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 116, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 116, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Water and Land,

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair

________________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair