STAND. COM. REP. NO. 900

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1820

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1820 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to enhance the ability of the Department of Education to enter into financing agreements to construct new public schools.

 

     The measure also establishes a separate budgetary account that is subject to legislative approval for the payment of lease-purchase agreements by the Department of Education.

 

     Your Committee received comments from the Department of Education that concurred with the measure but with reservations.  The Department of Accounting and General Services and the Department of Budget and Finance submitted comments in opposition to this measure.

 

     Your Committee finds that the State's high growth rate and the continuous construction of new home developments have caused a severe overcrowding problem in Hawaii's public schools.  The traditional method of utilizing general obligation bonds to build new schools appears to be inadequate and unable to satisfy the growing public school student population.

 

     To address this problem, this measure enhances the ability of the Department of Education to partner with private developers through financing agreements to expedite the construction of new schools.

 

     Your Committee has amended the measure by:

 

     (1)  Adopting the recommendations of the Department of Education to:

 

          (A)  Seek the concurrence of the Department of Budget and Finance with respect to financing agreements; and

 

          (B)  Remove the authority of the Department of Accounting and General Services to approve financing agreements;

 

     (2)  Changing the dollar ceiling for financing agreements not requiring the approval of the Director of Finance and the Attorney General from $3,000,000 to an unspecified amount; and

 

     (3)  Changing the effective date of the measure to July 1, 2050 to facilitate further discussion on this matter.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1820, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1820, S.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair