CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 96

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2017

RE:    S.B. No. 423

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 423, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STUDENT MEALS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Prohibit denying a student a meal for failure to pay within the first twenty-one days of the first semester of a school year while the student's application is being processed;

     (2)  Prohibit denying a student a meal for failure to pay within seven days after the student's meal fund account balance is zero or negative;

     (3)  Authorize the Department of Education to adopt rules or polices for the collection of funds for negative student meal balances; and

     (4)  Require a report to the Legislature.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that forty-seven percent of public school students in Hawaii qualify for the Department of Education's free and reduced lunch program.  Your Committee on Conference further finds that gaps in coverage for individual students in the program can arise due to delays in processing applications or the financial situation of the student's family.  Your Committee on Conference additionally finds that chronically hungry students suffer significant hardship compared to their classmates, and can experience achievement gaps, concentration loss, illness, increased absenteeism, behavioral problems, depression, and misdiagnosed learning disorders.  This measure will ensure that students qualifying for the free and reduced lunch program will not go hungry due to delays in application processing or missed payments.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2017.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 423, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 423, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ JUSTIN H. WOODSON Co-Chair	____________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI Chair
____________________________ TY J.K. CULLEN Co-Chair	____________________________ BREENE HARIMOTO Co-Chair