STAND. COM. REP. NO. 258

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1222

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 1222 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CONFERENCE CENTER REVOLVING FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow the Conference Center Revolving Fund (Revolving Fund) for the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH-Hilo) to be expended by:

(1) Expanding the scope of use of the Revolving Fund from being limited to expenditures by the conference center program at the College of Continuing Education and Community Service to all conference center programs conducted by UH-Hilo;

(2) Transferring the authority to expend monies from the Revolving Fund from the Dean of the College of Continuing Education and Community Service to the Chancellor of UH-Hilo or the Chancellor's designee;

(3) Exempting the expenditure of monies from the Revolving Fund from the bidding requirements under the state procurement requirements; and

(4) Requiring the Chancellor of UH-Hilo to submit annual reports to the Legislature providing an accounting for the Revolving Fund.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawai‘i System.

Your Committee finds that the Revolving Fund, which is specifically designated to be expended for the conference center program at the College of Continuing Education and Community Service at UH-Hilo, is no longer in use because the college no longer exists. Your Committee further finds that the State Auditor, in Auditor's Report No. 20-03, recommended that the Revolving Fund be repealed as it has been inactive and no longer serves the purpose for which it was created. This measure would allow the Revolving Fund to be restructured for the purpose of all conference center programs conducted by UH-Hilo. Furthermore, providing an exemption from the bidding requirements under the Hawaii Public Procurement Code would allow for more efficient use of expenditures out of the Revolving Fund.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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. 1222, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1222, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair