STAND. COM. REP. NO. 935

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 297

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 297, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GRANTS-IN-AID,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide for greater legislative oversight of certain activities involving grants awarded under Chapter 42F, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

More specifically, the measure requires an organization to obtain legislative approval prior to the disposition of land acquired by the organization using a state grant, beginning July 1, 2024.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Office of Community Services of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee finds that this measure provides the Legislature with discretion to authorize, on a case-by-case basis, a grant recipient's request to dispose of land acquired using grant moneys, and that this discretion will allow for closer examination of the manner in which the State's financial resources are used.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting the reference to July 1, 2024, and adding a provision clarifying that the legislative authorization requirement shall only apply to land that was acquired after the enactment of this measure;

(2) Changing the effective date to upon approval; and

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

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. 297, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 297, S.D. 2.

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

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair