STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1488-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: S.B. No. 2328

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2328, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the University of Hawaii Open Educational Resources Task Force to conduct a comprehensive analysis and evaluation on all general education courses and high attendance courses taught at the University of Hawaii system to identify open educational resources for those courses and report to the Legislature prior to the 2019 Regular Session; and

(2) Establish and appropriate funds for a one-year Open Educational Resources Pilot Project Grant Program to incentivize faculty at the University of Hawaii to adopt, develop, and implement open educational resources for their courses.

The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, Associated Students of the University of Hawai‘i, and an individual supported this measure. The University of Hawai‘i Student Caucus supported this measure with amendments. The Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i and an individual opposed this measure. The University of Hawai‘i provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing the name of the task force and making conforming amendments;

(2) Requiring the Task Force to explore no- or low-cost options for general education course textbooks, including implementing a grant program as a means of providing no- or low-cost options for educational materials;

(3) Adding a representative of the publishing industry to the membership of the Task Force;

(4) Deleting provisions establishing and appropriating funds for the one-year Open Educational Resources Pilot Project Grant Program; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee finds that the University of Hawaii is already providing options to reduce the cost of educational materials on an ad hoc basis. Your Committee has chosen not to have the Task Force focus on requiring open educational resources because open education resources are proprietary, do not fully reflect the ad hoc efforts that are already being undertaken by the University of Hawaii, and are not available for certain professional and graduate programs.

Your Committee further notes that, as requested in testimony, a representative of the publishing industry was included as a member of the task force to incentivize publishers to lower costs for textbooks.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2328, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2328, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair