STAND. COM. REP. NO. 492

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 938

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Higher Education and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 938 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for four full-time positions (4.0 FTE) for services and programs for Native Hawaiian Student Services at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawai‘i System, Native Hawaiian Student Services at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and ten individuals.

Your Committees find that Native Hawaiian Student Services at the University of Hawaii at Manoa prepares Native Hawaiian students to build upon a legacy of excellence, with creativity and confidence, in order to fulfill the kuleana of their time, thereby leading Hawaii into a thriving and life-affirming future. Additionally, Native Hawaiian Student Services programs are designed to improve institutional access, student-faculty engagement, research, leadership, and student success, by fostering Hawaiian identities and cultivating Hawaiian scholarship. Your Committees further find that Native Hawaiian Student Services is supported by a federal grant that expires in 2019. As the number of Native Hawaiian students attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa continues to rise, this measure ensures the furtherance of the work of Native Hawaiian Student Services in providing academic support for and improving access and persistence of Hawaiian students at the university.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Higher Education and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 938 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Higher Education and Hawaiian Affairs,

________________________________ MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair

________________________________ DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair