STAND. COM. REP. NO. 187

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 391

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 391 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII COMMUNITY COLLEGE WORKFORCE TRAINING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for the University of Hawaii Community Colleges' workforce training development programs.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, University of Hawai‘i System, University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, and Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education.

Your Committee finds that the University of Hawaii Community Colleges' workforce development programs equip students with the skills to secure and succeed in high-demand, high-wage jobs and are critical to the ongoing development of Hawaii's workforce. In 2022, the Community Colleges' non-credit workforce training programs provided more than seventeen thousand training opportunities. Despite the success and demand for these non-credit programs, no permanent funding is available for high school students to participate. Expanding access to serve students through Early College programs will provide needed resources to ensure all seven community colleges can support high school students interested in gaining workforce skills. Accordingly, this measure appropriates funds for the administration, training, personnel, and student support to expand workforce training curriculum.

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. 391, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 391, 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