STAND. COM. REP. 40

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 1335

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1335 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TUITION WAIVERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to require the University of Hawaii (UH) to:

(1) Award tuition waivers to all students of Hawaiian ancestry who provide proof of financial need; and

(2) Give preference in admission to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry.

ILWU Local 142 and several individuals submitted testimony in support of this bill with proposed amendments. UH and the Department of Education submitted testimony in support of the intent of this bill.

Your Committee finds that as the primary institution of higher education in the State and because it currently controls over 15,000 acres of ceded lands, UH has a unique responsibility to the Hawaiian people. Hawaiians receive the least schooling of any ethnic group in the State, and the State needs to take action to rectify this situation. This bill will enable many financially restricted students of Hawaiian ancestry the access to higher education that they deserve.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Deleting the requirement that UH give preference to Hawaiians in admissions;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of style and clarity.

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 H.B. No. 1335, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1335, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs.

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

 

____________________________

K. MARK TAKAI, Chair