Report Title:

University Of Hawaii; Policy Centers

Description:

Establishes the office of public policy coordination and support to provide support for various existing policy centers of the University of Hawaii. Makes an appropriation to establish the office and to support specific policy center activities.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1855

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to university of hawaii.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the University of Hawaii represents a tremendous brain trust that is essential for informed and objective policy-making and problem solving in the State. The university's mission, in part, is "to provide an environment in which faculty and students can discover, examine critically, preserve, and transmit the knowledge and wisdom that will help ensure the survival of the present and future generations with improvement in the quality of life."

The University of Hawaii has often contributed to better policy-making through a wide range of formal and informal interactions with policy makers. Important contributions to policy-making have been made by the university through a number of entities, including but not limited to, the environmental center, the center on aging, the social science research institute, the college of social sciences public policy center, the sea grant program, the Hawaii educational policy center, the Hawaii energy policy forum, the public administration program, and various departments and faculty, to name just a few. These policy centers seek to provide timely, concise, relevant, and objective information through research, reports, studies, forums, workshops, and consultations with legislative and administrative policy makers.

The legislature also recognizes that there are many studies, theories, and much information generated outside Hawaii that need to be analyzed and evaluated for quality and application to Hawaii, its policies, and its practices.

The legislature further finds that in spite of the university's policy-making efforts, its brain trust often remains fragmented, underfunded, and unable to respond to many requests for assistance in a timely manner. As noted in a presentation by the college of social sciences public policy center, challenges include (1) requests for assistance exceeding time availability of faculty, (2) lack of a clear point of contact for outside agencies to obtain information and assistance, (3) no common "bannerhead" to showcase the wide range of policy activities and disseminate outcomes, (4) lack of infrastructure for sustained growth of programs, and (5) weak linkages between policy research, instruction, and community outreach. The University of Hawaii has been unable or unwilling to provide more support for the existing policy centers and for this key role of providing timely, relevant research, data, and analysis. The legislature further finds that lack of adequate funds may compromise the independence of policy centers if they are forced to rely on limited sources of contracts from the very stakeholders they may be called upon to study.

The purpose of this Act is to establish and partially fund an office of public policy coordination and support, which is to be administratively attached to the University of Hawaii to provide support for existing policy centers, enhance the independence of the centers through more diverse funding, and further facilitate and mobilize the intellectual resources of the University of Hawaii to better inform and serve policy makers. The office is administratively attached to the office of the president only to ensure that the office is able to serve all interested departments in the university system and will not be subject to the financial or programmatic limitations of any one smaller unit of the system. In addition, funds are to be provided for a variety of needed policy research at certain policy centers.

SECTION 2. Chapter 304, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part . Policy centers

§304-A Establishment of the office of public policy coordination and support. There is established the office of public policy coordination and support to be administratively attached to the office of the president of the University of Hawaii. The office shall have a full-time director and adequate staff to support and accomplish its mission. The office shall be located on the Manoa campus.

§304-B Powers and duties. The powers and duties of the office of public policy coordination and support shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Appointing and convening a university public policy advisory committee, to be made up of representatives from the major policy centers and other key individuals, whose purpose shall be to advise the director and serve as a forum to discuss issues of common interest;

(2) Seeking ways to provide appropriate support to existing policy centers and facilitate the creation of new policy centers, as recommended by the advisory committee;

(3) Providing appropriate support to existing centers in their pursuit of funding;

(4) Facilitating the interaction between policy makers and the University of Hawaii community;

(5) Promoting a non-partisan environment, pursuing objective knowledge, data, analysis, and research;

(6) Promoting more student and faculty internships, legislators in residence, and other interactions with policy makers;

(7) Serving as a clearinghouse of information and contacts for policy makers who are less familiar with the resources of the University of Hawaii and for faculty and other university community members who are less familiar with legislative and other policy-making arenas;

(8) Facilitating greater involvement of upper division and graduate level seminars and student research in topics and issues of interest to policy makers;

(9) Facilitating more public policy forums and regularly sponsoring multi-disciplinary presentations and speakers;

(10) Assisting in the tracking of legislation and other timely policy development actions and ensuring that interested faculty members can be kept informed to facilitate their input and participation in policy-making;

(11) Maintaining a legislative and executive branch "wish-list" of needed research, data, analysis, reports, and studies for use by faculty and students to encourage a closer and more relevant connection between the work of the university and the work of policy makers;

(12) Further promoting multi-disciplinary analysis, discussion, and understanding of policy-making and the important global, national, multi-state, and Hawaii trends that affect public policy;

(13) Operating in a manner that respects the work, integrity, and independence of the existing policy centers; and

(14) Arranging for appropriate administration of funds, including the appropriate use of the research corporation of the University of Hawaii, in a manner that encourages legislative and administrative policy makers to contract with university policy centers and personnel for the timely receipt and expenditure of funds, while minimizing the issues of turf, overhead, and bureaucratic delays.

§304-C University support for the office. The president of the University of Hawaii shall appoint a director of the office and ensure that there is adequate staff, office space, computer capabilities, and expenses for the office."

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, for the following public policy activities of the University of Hawaii:

A. office of public policy coordination and support, $          , to establish the office.

B. Social science research institute, $          , for studies.

C. College of social sciences public policy center, $300,000 for housing.

D. Hawaii educational policy center, $          , for studies relating to educational reform.

E. Department of urban and regional planning, $          , for a transportation clearinghouse.

SECTION 4. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that sections 3 and 4 shall take effect on July 1, 2004.

INTRODUCED BY:

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