STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2736

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3091

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3091, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR FOOD SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation to the Department of Education for its food service operations.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Hawaii Primary Care Association, and Hawaii Food Industry Association.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Education provides approximately twenty thousand school breakfasts and eighty thousand school lunches to students and staff across the State each day. For many students, school meals are their only regular food source during the week. Your Committee further finds that the Department of Education has accumulated a deficit of more than $20,000,000 for its food service operations, largely due to inflationary cost increases. Accordingly, your Committee finds that the emergency appropriation made by this measure will allow the Department to continue to provide meals to public school students.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(3) 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 Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3091, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3091, 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