Report Title:

UH; engineering education

 

Description:

Promotes the civil engineering profession and enhances the recruitment and retention of civil engineers in the department of transportation by providing financial assistance, on-the-job training, and educational opportunities to qualified students. (HB372 HD1)

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

372

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to establish a civil engineering scholarship program to be administered by the department of transportation and to appropriate moneys to promote the civil engineering profession, and offer financial assistance, on-the-job training, and employment opportunities to qualified students in Hawaii.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 78, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§78-     Department of transportation; civil engineering scholarship program.  (a)  The department of transportation may establish a civil engineering scholarship program open to high school graduates of accredited high schools in Hawaii, or high school graduates who are residents of Hawaii, who have successfully completed a high school pre-college curriculum.  The department of transportation shall establish, without regard to chapter 91, the criteria and guidelines for the scholarship program that shall include but not be limited to qualification requirements, conditions for the scholarship, reimbursement provisions, and alternate options in which a scholarship participant may participate to otherwise fulfill the participant's employment obligation under a scholarship agreement, if the participant is not hired by the department of transportation.

     (b)  The tuition component amount of a civil engineering scholarship award shall be limited to the resident tuition cost of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

     (c)  Students awarded scholarships shall agree by contract, with the written approval of a parent or legal guardian when the applicant is under eighteen years of age, to apply for full-time civil service employment with the department of transportation immediately after graduation from an accredited civil engineering program at the University of Hawaii and accept any position offered and, if hired, complete one year of full-time employment with the department of transportation for each school year in which the participant participated in the scholarship program.  A participant who fails to:

     (1)  Graduate from an accredited civil engineering program at the University of Hawaii;

     (2)  Apply for employment with the department of transportation immediately upon graduation as provided in this subsection or in subsection (f); or

     (3)  Accept any position offered by the department of transportation,

shall reimburse the department of transportation the full amount of moneys received.

     (d)  A participant who leaves the department of transportation before completing the required number of years of employment shall reimburse the department of transportation the full amount of scholarship moneys received by the participant for each year of the scholarship that corresponds to each year for which the participant fails to complete the employment requirement.

     (e)  Summer employment may be offered by the department of transportation to scholarship students.  The department of transportation shall establish guidelines to effectuate this subsection.

     (f)  The department of transportation's guidelines for this program will address situations where participants may wish to postpone their work commitment to pursue a master's degree in civil engineering."

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the highways special fund, highways administration, the sum of $100,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 to implement the department of transportation’s civil engineering scholarship program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of transportation for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.