STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1495

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2023

RE: S.B. No. 1413

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education & Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 1413, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII RESIDENT TUITION FEE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the University of Hawaii to grant resident tuition fees for enrollment at any University of Hawaii campus to individuals who have graduated from a Hawaii high school and are enrolling in an undergraduate degree program.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Board of Regents of the University of Hawai‘i, University of Hawai‘i System, Hawai‘i P-20, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that providing Hawaii's residents with increased opportunities to pursue post-secondary education and training is in the best interest of the State. This measure seeks to streamline the process for determining whether a student qualifies for in-state tuition at the University of Hawaii by allowing graduates of a Hawaii high school to be classified as residents for this purpose, under certain conditions.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Adding a finding that this measure, which facilitates postsecondary education and training for all interested high school graduates, addresses a matter of statewide concern;

(2) Restructuring the amendments to the resident tuition requirements to ensure the stated purpose of this measure is properly effectuated;

(3) Expanding the timeframe within which a student has graduated from high school in the State to ten years, rather than two years, to qualify for resident tuition;

(4) Deleting the requirement that the adult or minor student shall not have claimed resident status of another state or submitted an application to another state's institution of higher learning as a resident of that state within two years preceding the student's first day of officially scheduled instruction, for purposes of qualifying a graduate of a Hawaii high school for resident tuition;

(5) Changing the effective date to June 30, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education & Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1413, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1413, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

AMY A. PERRUSO, Chair