STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2878
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 3103
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirtieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2020
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 3103 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A SCHOOL FACILITIES AGENCY,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The
purpose and intent of this measure is to:
(1) Establish the School Facilities Agency to be responsible for
all public school development, planning, and construction, related to capital
improvement projects assigned by the Legislature, Governor, or Board of
Education;
(2) Transfer statutes pertaining to the Hawaii
3R's and 3T's programs to a new School Facilities Agency statutory subpart;
(3) Place management of school impact fees with
the agency; and
(4) Appropriate funds.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Governor; State of Hawaii Attorney General; Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs; Hawaii Community Foundation; Aloha United Way; Pacific Resource Partnership; He‘e Coalition; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; and Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the State Procurement Office, United Public Workers, and Hawaii Government Employees Association. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Budget and Finance; Office of Information Practices; Hawaii State Ethics Commission; Hawaii State Public Library System; Hawaii 3R's; Hawaii Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter; Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest; Maui Chamber of Commerce; American Council of Engineering Companies Hawaii; Painting Industry of Hawaii Labor Management Cooperation Trust Fund; Hawaii Tapers Market Recovery Trust Fund; Hawaii Glaziers, Architectural Metal Glassworkers Local Union 1889 AFL-CIO Stabilization Trust Fund; Carpet, Linoleum and Soft Tile Local Union 1926 Market Recovery Trust Fund; and Electrical Contractor's Association of Hawaii.
Your
Committee finds that this measure requires the agency and Department of Education
to determine what positions will be transferred to the agency and report this
to the Legislature. Your Committee
therefore finds that, until that time, the Legislature will not have the
information necessary to make a determination as to how to address the concerns
brought forward by labor.
This measure included references to repair and maintenance. Your Committee finds that these functions will remain with the Department of Education.
Your Committee offers as clarification that the gifts and disclosure requirements are intended to be for gifts and contributions to the School Facilities Special Fund and not agency employees, who will still fall under the current guidelines of the State ethics code.
Your
Committee urges the Committee on Ways and Means, if it is interested in deleting
the procurement code exemption, to consider granting a case-by-case exemption
to the procurement code as noted in the testimony of the State Procurement
Office.
Your Committee further notes that the creation of the agency does not affect the status of existing civil service positions.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Amending the
powers of the agency to be able to hold title;
(2) Reducing the size of the school facilities board from eleven to seven;
(3) Inserting language prohibiting board members from having:
(A) Any financial interest in any entity that bids on projects
authorized by the agency; or
(B) Bid on any project within the last twelve months prior to their
appointment;
(4) Making the School Facilities Board subject to the State sunshine law;
(5) Removing language moving the 3Rs program to the agency;
(6) Removing language moving the 3Ts program to
the agency;
(7) Deleting the State Educational Facilities Improvement Special Fund and
moving any remaining balance into the newly created School Facilities Special
Fund;
(8) Allowing the agency to issue its own bond financing;
(9) Allowing the agency to enter into public-private partnerships;
(11) Including the amendment suggested by the Department
of Land and Natural Resources that would revert any lands not used for
educational purposes back to the public land trust under the management of the
Department of Land and Natural Resources;
(12) Including protections against bid-shopping in the State procurement code;
(13) Including the qualification based selection
process for professional service contracts as currently outlined in section 103-D;
(14) Adopting the Hawaii State Ethics Commission
recommendations to:
(A) Clarify that the gifts and disclosure
requirements are intended to be for gifts and contributions to the special fund
and not employees, who will still fall under current guidelines; and
(B) Clarifying the financial disclosure exemption
by requiring that financial disclosures be confidential;
(15) Removing all references to repair and maintenance; and
(16) 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 Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3103, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3103, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,
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________________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair |
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