Senate Standing Committee on Higher Education

Good afternoon and welcome to the Committee on Higher Education.

Today is March 11th. We are in conference room 229 for our 3:00pm agenda. Although it is 3:09, due to some merge false emergency alarms that went on. And keep in mind that this meeting is being streamed live on YouTube.

And in the unlikely event that we have any kind of disruption and have to abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties like the one we just had earlier today, the committee will convene to discuss outstanding business. Let's see. On Thursday in room 229, a public notice will be posted on the legislature's website.

Just a reminder, we have a one minute time limit per testifier. With that we are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 measures on our agenda today. Starting off with the first one, House Bill 442, House Draft 1. This is relating to the University of Hawaii. Appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii system for various nursing programs.

And first to testify we have Clementina Ceria-Ulep.

Good afternoon Chair Kim, Vice Chair Kidani. This testimony is presented on behalf of the University of Hawaii system including the UH Manawa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, UH West Oahu, and UH Hilo School of Nursing in strong support of this measure. And thank you for the opportunity to provide support. I'm here to answer questions.

Quick question. So you aware of our Senate Bill that went over? 7.

Was it 637?

637, which is pretty much the same.

Very much so. Yes, it's the same.

And you supported that measure as well, right?

Exactly.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next testifier, Eric Abe. Support. Let's see. Paige Choi. Support. Rachel Wilkinson. Laura Reinhart all in support. Mike Nguyen on Zoom. Mike.

Good afternoon, Chair. Vice Chair Mike Nguyen with AlohaCare just standing in strong support with our. Written testimony already submitted. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much. We have a four or five more in support. Anyone here wishing to testify on this measure? Hearing none. Anyone on Zoom? Hearing none. Members, any questions? Senator Fevella, we are on HB 442, just starting.

Is that a trick question?

It might be. You ready for the test?

No.

Okay. Hearing no questions, we will move right along. We. House Bill 1169, House Draft 1. This relates to the University of Hawaii Conference Center revolving fund. I swear we've heard this bill I don't know how many times and we somehow don't get to pass it. Hopefully this will be the year that will pass it.

And basically it repeals the conference center revolving fund. This is for various conference center programs in Hilo. And with that we call on Kalbert Young. There he is Kalbert Young. How many times have we gone on this bill?

I'm going to say I think this is the third year, but it could be.

Fourth.

Fourth, but yeah.

I know I keep passing it. So I don't know where the bottleneck is on this paper. So.

Okay, thank you. Chair, you have our university's testimony. We can stand on our testimony. This is actually really more of a housekeeping bill. In the statute, there are currently two conference center statutes, one fo UH Hilo and one for the community colleges.

This bill just consolidates them into one conference center fund statute and then allows for all of the campuses to use a centralized fund. So it's just, it is a housekeeping measure. Thank you.

Okay, thank you for that. Anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Any questions, Members? None. We move forward. House Bill 1185, House Draft 2. This is relating to agriculture. Establishes a plant based building materials working group to study and report on how best to grow plants and develop plant based building materials in Hawaii. First to testify, Department of Ag. Anybody from Department of Agriculture? We don't have a name here. Okay. We have Parwinder. Parwinder. I'm sorry, did I say that correctly? Grewal. Okay. Please.

Good to be here. Thank you for the opportunity, Chair, Vice Chair, and Members of the Committee. We do support the intent of this bill and support stand on our written testimony. We do have a comment that we need to develop some baseline data research so that we can be more informed before we develop a larger working group on this. And that's what we respectfully request.

Okay, thank you. Brian Miyamoto in support. Hunter Heaivilin. I don't know if I said that correctly. Anybody on Zoom?

He's not present on Zoom, Chair.

Okay, thank you. Ted Bohlen.

Thank you, Chair Kim, Vice Chair Kidani, and Members of the Committee. Ted Bohlen on behalf of the Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition and the Climate Protectors Hawaii in strong support of this bill. We have an opportunity here in Hawaii to develop a homegrown building materials with plants industry with green jobs in both agriculture and production.

So it's a real economic boom potential. We've got the climate. We've got places in Hawaii that can grow plant materials that can be turned into building materials, such as clumping bamboo that grows really fast. It's a grass, so when you cut it, unlike a tree, it's not gone, just grows back up. Hempcrete that you probably heard about. And they're bio cements that can be used in place of cement. The reason these are important is that timber and steel and cement are all really big greenhouse gas emitters.

And if we can develop things here that sequester, plants that sequester greenhouse gases, that can help move us toward our goal of eliminating carbon by 2050. Also, it's really an economic opportunity bill. That's the point of it. And so I hope that you can pass it.

In terms of the comments of CTAHR, which I respect and I appreciate their support for the intent of the bill. I would like to get the working group going. And so I'd ask to pass the bill. And the baseline, there has been some baseline research done. A gentleman who used to run the largest plywood mill in the world was hired to study eucalyptus in Hamakua and said that he got familiar with the market opportunities, logistics, and other challenges for a timber business in Hawaii.

And he said that a bamboo Hawaii based timber business could be quite successful with export to the West Coast while addressing the local market as well. As you know, we have a lot of shipping. I'll leave it at that. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Question. What's the appropriations that you're requiring?

I think that's a question you'd have to develop with CTAHR. I don't know the answer to that.

Okay. Since I have, since you're up here, already asked you the same question. So why do we need a working group? I mean, can't you just put people together, get some ideas and then go from there? And you've already seemed to have a lot of knowledge.

Yeah, it's really about bringing different people together who can help move it forward. It's not that we have to have a working group. It's that a working group would really help move this industry forward.

Okay, thank you. Senator Fevella.

Yes. I love working with our Chair. She already asked my question. The reason why I bring this up, since I've been in this square building, a lot of the hemp community came out. I seen all the products that they've been doing. Hemp been around since the first Bible, first money, all of these things. It's viable.

So again, the same thing is why would we need a working group knowing that this can be an industry. And Senator Dela Cruz is already talking about how we want this to be a manufacturing ability here on island to do this. Because again, not only for the biofuel part, but concrete. Right.

Ford made the first car out of hemp. If you guys know that, Google it. It's there. But there's a lot of things that hemp can do that... I'm not saying I guess I'm against bamboo, but it's all good with bamboo. But I really want him to push forward. So I understand the working group, but there's a lot of people that's out there that we're willing to sit at the table without a working group to go forward in getting this. All we need is to have a bill done to get the manufacturing moving forward. So I think you should just, I mean, go ahead.

Oh, thank you for the question. And I agree with you. It would be great to get things moving forward. Where I might disagree is I think a working group, which is minimal expense I believe, would help move it forward. Because you get everybody around the table in a formal thing as opposed to right now.

We have people talking about hemp, we have people talking about bamboo, but it's not moving forward the way it could. And it could take a lot longer to develop these industries that could be really productive for Hawaii if we got things moving. So that's the purpose.

That's the only problem for me is that, you know, again, Senator Kim, it will cost money to do it. And like I said, not saying it's not worth it. It is worth it. I mean, I don't know how much sandwiches and a $5 meal is gonna go around the table. So you guys can have lunch. But I support it. Whatever my colleagues who support it, but like I said, I think we can get there quicker. I guess it's not to try to get everybody to the table and break bread, but that's just my take of it. Thank you.

Chair, if I may say, I was in a working group for four years. We never got lunch.

Shucks. You was in the wrong group, brother.

Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Okay. Hearing none. Questions? So the University of Hawaii, Parwinder. So there is an appropriation in this bill. So what is the estimated amount of cost?

So we are proposing to do basically some analysis of what different crops. We talked about bamboo, we talked about hemp, and where we will grow them. We have food production as the number one priority, right, in the state. And then can we use marginal lands, that kind of thing, to produce these kinds of materials.

And in order to do that kind of analysis and get some experts on board to finalize to have some kind of policy statement, we are thinking about, say, about 150,000 over two years to do all that work and then present the report to say where, what different crops make sense for Hawaii and also keeping food and other priorities for land.

Okay, but why do we need to put together a legislative working group? I mean, can't the University of Hawaii bring together. I mean, you folks are supposedly, you know, got all the degrees and so forth and connections in the community and, you know, you're waiting for this bill all this time.

We could have had this working group started. Why do you what... And it cost us $150,000 to put this working group together. You know, I like this other gentleman just said, he was in a working group for four years. I mean, so I guess a hard time understanding all these studies and working groups that we spend all this money on, and then I don't know what happens to it.

I agree with you. This is not something that we propose to have a working group. I mean, we could do the analysis if that's how you think that that's how we need to move forward. We are actually proposing that before we get a big group together, if we can provide the basis of that.

Can't you just do that without any kind of legislation? I mean, they keep saying the Legislature wants to control the University and tell you guys what to do, but people can do it. Why don't we do it? Why don't you do it?

We would need some support to do that extra work. I mean, we are so focused on the food side right now. And you know, yes, this is also important, but we were not focused on this particular aspect and we did not make a request for this. We are just answering your questions.

Okay, Members, any other questions?

Follow up on that. So if we can do all of that, then why we need the appropriation, why we need the 150? We get everybody together. The industries that will come to the table. If the University of Hawaii leads this and put it out that they want all the industries to come in and share the manaʻo on this idea, what you just shared, a lot of them will come free because hemp should have been, Hawaii should have been the hip capital of the world.

But we're not, for whatever reason. And they already got the analysis. They know that hemp can remediate the earth that has poisonous spectacides and certain things. And that's the reason why I suggested the Navy to look at planting hemp in Red Hill. But we don't even know if they will get hemp on hemp. But the bottom line is that they already get studies on how they can grow the trees. What seedling is going to look like. This is going to be 20ft, this will be 40ft. They already have all of that. All they need is an opportunity.

So by having one, another one huddle and say, hey, we got to throw the football to make a touchdown. Yeah, we got to throw the football to make a touchdown. It's automatic. But why are we going to have one group to huddle up to saying we need this. Yes, we do need them. There already is studies, there already is analysis out there that the industry with bamboo and other stuff that we grow here already or plan to grow, it works.

I mean, from my perspective, anybody in the industry or any individual can start to grow and build their business. We are not in a business of dictating anything to anybody. If somebody want to start their bamboo business today, it's related to agriculture, and they come to CTAHR for any help on pest management or whatever the case may be, we will provide. So we are not standing in the middle at all, even today. I mean, you are questioning the value of the working group. I'm with you on it. So what is the utility of that? If there is already some evidence that business can work, we will support it. Absolutely.

Can I get your information so I can pass it on to them?

Say that again.

Can I get your information afterwards? And I will pass it on to you so you can call you tomorrow?

Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Any other questions? Okay, we are moving on. We are on House Bill 1320, House Draft 1, relating to education requires the University of Hawaii system to collect, analyze and publicly report certain graduate outcome data. Data requires and appropriates funds for the development and maintenance of the Graduate Outcomes Dashboard. And we have to justify. Deborah Halbert.

Good afternoon, Chair. Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Deborah Halbert, Vice President for Academic Strategy. We stand on our written testimony. As you can see, we do have links to some of the dashboards that we already have that provide postgraduate outcomes.

It's my understanding that the intent of this bill would be to help us consolidate and better promote it to families who may not be as comfortable looking through the kinds of data that we have now. I'm happy to answer questions.

Okay. You're the only one that's. No, I'm sorry. Do I have Ronald Sturges? Are you here, Ronald? No. Okay. Questions? Are we testifying for a different build? Zero, I'm sorry. You testifying? The last one. It's a relief. Sorry, Deborah, you're the only one. Questions? Senator Kidani.

So why would funds be needed for this?

So one of the things that we were looking at, and you probably know this already, is that under our current strategic plan, we have a new workforce imperative, and we hired a new workforce Director, but she has no capacity to help fulfill some of the larger postgraduate outcome work that this dashboard sets up.

So part of what the request is for is to help us envision how we can do workforce development for the system far better than we can with our current capacity. So that's part of it. The other part of it is our institutional research office has a staff that does a lot of data analysis as well.

But data visualization is the new way in which a lot of this work is done. And we don't currently have someone whose expertise is in data visualization. So that's why, why we requested that those two positions be potentially part of this request. Thank you.

So in the entire University of YA do you teach or have anybody that do data visualization?

Most likely in departments other than our institutional research office, they probably do have folks that teach those skills.

Okay, so do we have students that probably have those skills?

Potentially. And we could potentially hire them as internships in some of the different kinds of projects that we have underway.

I would like that you would do that because, you know, requiring you to collect, analyze, public, publicly report the graduate outcome data. I mean, that's something that you are, like you said, you already do some of that, right?

There are different databases that do it. Both the Census Bureau does collect data, and that's one of the databases that we reference. I'm not sure had a chance to look at any of those databases. DXP has a dashboard, and then there's the Career Explorer.

So there are different dashboards, there's different places where the data lives across different data systems. So some of those may be protected in ways that we wouldn't let students have access to.

Shouldn't you, as the University of Hawaii, have that data and put that data, make it public without us having to put together a bill? I mean, we keep asking every time we appropriate all this money to the University and we want to know the data.

How many graduates go into their profession, how many graduates, their majors and all that, and they keep saying, zero, well, we'll get you that data or whatever, but shouldn't that data be already provided?

Well, some of it. And as you know, there's other bills that are currently under review this session that would give us access to better statewide data because we don't currently have access to all of that data.

So, for example, they're not on our agenda for today, but there's the request that we have access to tax data so that we have a better sense of what, what our students will go on to do.

So there are other things in the works that can help us to provide a better data picture than what we have right now. So right now it is not a complete picture on what our students go on to do in the postgraduate world.

We are of course, trying to develop a long term strategy for how we can provide better data and a better way for the state to understand how that will look. And so this, as I understand it, is part of what could be that vision.

And also I think from the perspective of Representative Garrett on the House side, this is a way that students, before they go to college could have access to information about where their majors may go.

And a lot of what our databases do right now is things about it from the perspective of how we present what our students are doing after the fact, if that makes sense as a distinction. Even though a lot of students going into college don't really know yet what they want to be.

So under the data visualization, isn't there ways to get some of the students, like when they do student teaching and teaching and so forth, or internships that, that don't cost money that the University can utilize within their system, within some of the areas where you can use them instead of having us to go and get new positions?

Well, it wouldn't. Yes. I mean, and we have a graduate student right now that we're paying for with foundation fund or money that we've raised through the Strata account on postgraduate outcomes and internships. And she does have some of those skills, but again, they're not professionals in the area. So.

So she's been able to help us do some work in data visualization for.

Actually it's more in terms of newsletters and those kinds of things, but for consistent, high quality help, we would want to have somebody we could train and have on staff to help really look through how we visualize our data for not just, of course, postgraduate outcomes, but the way we would visualize any of our data on student success and workforce initiatives.

And that kind of funding is not available from systems.

Not in my budget, no.

Have you requested it?

This would be part of the request and you know, again, requested it from systems. No.

Okay. Because systems do, in fact, out of our performance based budgeting, take the balance of the money that don't go out to the colleges for not meeting the performance measures or metrics.

So I think last year they took or was able to get about $4 million so I would think that this would be one of those areas where some of that funding can be used because that's, you know, other than that we do have a bill that's saying that, you know, what monies don't get, don't get dispersed should come back to the General Fund.

So I would think that the systems would want to show that these monies, even though it didn't meet the metrics that is going towards areas in which to help meet some of the metrics or help as far as having this kind of data for a workforce.

And we certainly, yeah, we would want to use our performance funds for those kinds of strategic initiatives. But it's difficult to commit to full time staffing off of performance funds that could ultimately need to be redistributed to campuses or other items. And I'll defer to all budget issues to my colleague who's in the room.

But yeah, well, nothing's easy. So I'm sure that, you know, unless, unless there's a ask for it and a reason, it's always so easy to just come to the ledge and ask us, you know, any other questions. Members, Senator.

So when the kids or whatever apply for whatever they do, they gotta go to a partho to figure out maybe what area they go. Isn't that when they're in high school kind of thing? I mean when they come to college they're going to look at data portal to figure out where to let go.

I mean, what is the purpose of having them? I mean when you go to college a lot of them don't know what they're going to do anyway. And that's the reason why, you know, I'm not a promoter of college.

But what I'm saying is when they fill out the application for come to college, you guys already get most of the information on what classes they take you for, engineering or whatever and then graduating.

So you guys don't have an ability to put that in so that these can be taken out by certain areas of the Department so we can go forward. Because all we're looking at now is that getting a new data processing porthole or another program. Then we got to pay for, I'll keep that program.

Then we got to pay for two more people to come and do the program and then we're not doing nothing within. So I always say this, not just to the University, but I say this all the time. We're getting top heavy in the state because these jobs is not going to just come with a job. Right?

We got to Pay benefits and retirement and medical and all those good things that other people don't get. So that's why I don't understand when are we going to say when we're going to stop keep adding and adding and adding and when we're going to just say let's use what we have.

And it's easy to keep coming to the well if the wells do have water, but if no more water, what you going to do? You're going to look for someplace else for water, but then you're going to utilize what you got. I just have a problem. I have a problem with this whole thing.

I'm for sharing data and getting things done to help our kids in college. But again, if you go through all high school, filling out all these applications and what you like B and you go over there and you think to yourself, huh, I don't know what I like B. Let me go look at this program.

Is that what we're seeing here?

Well, we can't solve the fact that all the young students don't necessarily know what they want to be when they grow up. I mean, sometimes we shouldn't tell them.

Go to college because they will be.

Wasting their money until they have a better sense. But I mean, one of the things that has changed sort of nationally in the higher ED landscape is this focus on postgraduate outcomes. So not even, I think maybe 10 years ago, the focus was really on student success for getting to the period of graduation.

So some of our performance metrics, for example, are based upon how many students we graduate within a four year or six year period. So those were the metrics that we were using even 10 years ago.

That conversation is changing and in part it's changing because we have more sophisticated ways to look at data and more data sharing across both the state and the national level. Which means that we're either needing to shift resources or develop new resources to understand how to best maximize that data.

Hence these kinds of developments of dashboards that UH has already done. But also why we're, we're shifting to that conversation for these students before they even get there.

So instead of looking through a course catalog or taking courses to see what they like, they can actually look now and see if I go into this field, these are the outcomes for me. Like these are the kinds of jobs that are available. This is how much money I would make.

It also allows us, I think more strategically to think about the kinds of programs we would offer in terms of living wages for the state and other programs we may want to produce. In the future based on living wages. Does that make sense? So yes, the students definitely have to think through this.

This provides them with another tool and it also provides us with another tool for thinking through the postgraduate outcomes that now are a measure of what higher ED is needing to be doing.

So something that you just catch my. So part of my vocational rehab when I got hurt in construction to go out there and see what I wanted to do and go to high higher learning or to a trade. I had to take the time. Well, nobody used newspapers anymore.

I had to go and circle how much jobs are being asked for that I never knew a database, whatever. They told me you want to do this, you better go over to circle of engineering, whatever. Yeah, so I did mechanic and at that time mechanics was still in a downtrend. So that's what I did.

I ended up going mechanic school by circling these things. And they think that okay, and they fund it so that I could go to school and learn mechanics. Because in the field was good paying and high demand.

So again, these are the things, the jobs that you guys gonna be going engineer, whatever the Department it is, engineering, nursing, whatever. These are the jobs that you can get as engineering or you can get as an X-Ray tech, whatever. So those are the things that you guys can have already online.

You guys don't need one dashboard database thing. zero yeah, this how much guys, Michelle graduated from college and this is what she did and she's successful. You can do that now. You can do that now with nursing house, you know, tourism, whatever. You can do all of that now just by the departments you guys have.

If they wanted to go in. Oh, let me go look under engineering only 10 guys would go here. Then they can do that. But if I have on host new thing dashboard just for them to see how successful they might be when they graduate.

I mean, I kind of confused on that because all I have to do is grab the newspaper and circle them. 0 Mechanics. You know, 150 nurses needed at Queens. I think if I take nursing, I might get one job. Question, Senator. Sorry, that's the question. Why would we really.

You know, you talk all the stuff that you're seeing. There's other ways of finding success and knowing that you'll be successful in the trade. You take engineering, nursing, that's the question.

Because you ought to create this whole thing so when they go to college they're going to be successful and when they can go graduate, whatever, all of that. But there is other avenues.

You and I think sort of started our job searches in very similar ways, looking at newspapers and looking through paper materials. And this generation starts with the Internet or honestly, their phones or apps. A very different kind of world for them.

What I think the impetus behind this bill was is to try to make sure that they have a specified spot to go that's intuitive for parents and students who may be first generation may not have had the kinds of opportunities that we had to understand these kinds of job searches or don't know engineering exists as a field.

I mean, honestly, when I was going to college, I didn't know most of these things existed because my parents never went. So I think that's part of the impetus behind it is to create this space for students who wouldn't otherwise understand how to negotiate that complex landscape which is higher ed. And let's face it, it's very complicated.

We have 10 campuses, we have lots of different majors. Most of these are majors they've never heard of because, you know, high schools don't have them and yet there's good jobs at the end of them. So it's really trying to provide the space to open up those opportunities for them.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Any other questions? You know, I just want to add, I think sometimes we rely too much on data. You know, there's a lot of information out there. It's like in the schools, you know, what kids like to eat, what they don't like to eat. Okay, we got to go get data.

We got, got to figure out when we know, we see what they're throwing away. You know, we can ask the kids in the classroom, what do you like?

But no, we got to go to a web page or we got to go to an app and then we got to analyze the app and then we got to do all of those things. Costs money. At the end of the day, the money we spent could have been used better.

And you know, you know, I, I was a time when, you know, we looked in the newspapers like you said, for jobs. We didn't have the Internet, we didn't have Google, we didn't have monster job.

All these job places that you can find jobs and people are sending me text messages on jobs that I'm not even looking for a job, but it's out there already. I mean, you know, and at what point do we stop spoon feeding people and letting them also look and find out what they want?

I mean, it's all there. You go to Chat GPT, you type in stuff, they give you everything you want to know and then some. So it's like I don't know if this is the best use of the funding is what I would.

And I would hope that the University would start looking at not so much this, not your bill or somebody else's, you know, pipe dream, you know, is it a good use of funds? And that's what we, we don't do. Everybody comes in and say, yeah, we support this measure as long as it doesn't impact my budget.

Well, that's okay. Spend everybody else's budget. It's not going to impact my budget. And let's put it in because it's nice to have. It shouldn't be that way. You know, I should analyze and look at how we spending responsibly, taxpayers monies and tuition monies. And I just hope that the University would do that.

And because it's always nice to have these extra positions, these extra data. I don't know what people do with it, you know. So anyway, that's, that's my two cents on this measure. Any other questions, Senator Kidani?

Yes. So has the University looked within to see if there's positions already that can do this rather than keep adding positions?

So I have no additional positions in the office for the Vice President of academic strategy to allocate to.

This University is a big organization. So we would have to look to organization.

That would be a different conversation.

Yes, that's what I'm saying. Yeah.

Okay. Any other questions? Not. Thank you.

Thank you.

Don't go away. You're the next, you're on the next measure as well. Okay. Okay.

Okay. We are on House Bill 1171, House Draft 2 relating to the University of Hawaii relief funding. Allows the border regions to use funds in the University of Hawaii tuition and fee special fund for student aid in direct response to an emergency or disaster as declared by the governor. So Debora Halbert testifying for the University.

Great. Thank you again for having us here. We stand on our testimony in support and Associate Vice President Farrah Gomes should be online to ask answer technical questions related to this bill.

Okay.

Yes, there she is.

Okay. And we have Ronald Sturges just now, Ronald Sturges. Sorry about that. I saw Deborah's name and I just looked down.

Aloha Chair Kim, Vice Chair Kidani. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony. My name is Ronald Sturges here on behalf of the University of Hawaii Student Caucus. We are the representative body for the students 50,000 odd students of the University Hawaii across the 10 campus system. And we're here today in strong support of House Bill 1171, House Draft 2.

We stand on our testimony as written with the comment that as students we kind of see this as a really nice bill because it asks for no appropriations. But yeah, thank you for the opportunity provide testimony. I'm here if you have any questions. Thank you.

Sit right there. I have a question, but is there anyone else wishing to testify in this measure? We didn't have anyone send in. If not, members, we are open to questions. I can start off. I wanted to ask you, Ronald.

Yes.

So lately these tuition special fund that takes all the student tuition have come under fire for various using the funds for various other things other than related to project possibly students directly. So in this case, are you looking that this helps current students or helping potential students?

I think this would hit both current and potential students. The potential for disaster is I don't want to say omnipresent, but you know, you can never predict when a disaster will strike. And it's better to have this opportunity and not need it than need it and not have it.

And especially as I don't have any direct ties to the Maui wildfires, but I had just gotten into school when that had started and you know, the idea that could have been me, that could have been someone I know, it could have been my friend.

I would have wanted some way that I could have at least gotten some help, especially when I won't speak to what happened during the Maui wildfires. But I understand there's a lot of stuff surrounding it and as a student, if I felt left behind by all that, it would have sucked.

It could have ruined whatever future I had. It could have stifled whatever journey I had at the time and completely threw me off my rock. Just a little bit of help can go a long way, especially for people in need like that.

Okay. And in general, do you think that student tuition fund should be used for other things that not necessarily relates to students directly?

Correct me if I'm wrong. You're referring to the University's TFSF, right? The tuition fees and special fund, I believe it's called. As I understand it, that account is used primarily just to run the university's operations as well as the general fund. Am I Greg?

Yes, but I think that if it's.

That's why I'm asking you the question. That if it's tuition funds and fees which is paid by the students in as opposed to the general fund which we give out from the overall taxpayers come from the legislature, do you think that there should be a distinction as to how the tuition fund is used because it's kept.

My understanding is there's a balance that's, that carries over every year on that tuition fund and that I think they use it for, and I'm sure Kalbert can and give us more on that to fund special positions. I know monies go for the cancer center, monies go for, you know, other things. So I don't know.

Is there any thoughts by students as to how that fund should be used in any way?

So as for the students, for how we are concerned with funding, pretty much this would be only used in the event of an emergency.

No, I'm asking.

Oh, in general. You mean in general?

Well, I'm not an accountant, so I can't speak too widely on that. Although I do know a few accountant students. I wish they'd be here right now, but they're not.

What I can say, at least from what I've heard, is that as long as it's paying for, you know, services that we benefit from, the students don't really see an issue.

We have several other funds that work sort of similarly, where they take the money's come in as a package and then we have our CSOs, which you may know about. They take money out of that package once it's gone into the TFSF fund. And that's how they fund their student services.

We always ask about our fees, whether they're too high or too Low. Most students usually don't care as long as we're not increasing it. So if we're not increasing tuition to compensate, the students don't really seem to have an issue.

Okay, well, there is a tuition increase on the horizon.

So when the students hear about that, I'm pretty sure I'll have some more feedback. But until then.

Yeah, the regents, I understand, is probably looking at increasing tuition increase in, in student housing fees and so forth. Not that it's not needed. I'm just throwing that out there to see what the, what the senses of the students out there. Members, any questions? I have questions for Debora. Thank you very much.

Thank. If we could get Farah back on, she'll have some of the technical answers to this one.

So, Farah, if you're also on there. So in the sense of what. If there's an emergency, what students would then be helped?

Like, okay, so in the, in the case of the fires in Lahaina, and I know that, and I'm not sure if this came out of the tuition fund, but I know that the president went ahead and committed to pay for four years of college for any Lahainaluna graduate who was going to attend the University of Hawaii.

Did that come out of those tuition funds?

So Farah manages that program, so I'll let her answer that one.

Did that come out of the tuition funds?

That did not. That came out of UH foundation funding.

Okay, so was a sort of like a waiver of tuition for four years?

No, those are actually dollars that were gifted to the university from a private donor.

Okay, so in the case of this bill, then would it be? What kind of students would get this help?

So under this bill, it would be open to any student, even those students who already have the maximum amount of aid allowable by the university. Because that is.

I'm wanting to know if it's non university students. Would this fund help them? Like in the case.

No, we're talking. They would need to be in university.

It wouldn't go for would be would be students, but it would just be current students, that mean?

Correct? It would be current students, yes.

Okay, that answers my question. Members, any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Okay, members, that is the end.

I will recess shortly.

Calling back to order the Committee on Higher Education. We are in decision making. Starting off with House Bill 442, House Draft 1, relating to the University of Hawaii and the various nursing programs. The recommendation, Members, is that we insert Senate Bill 673, replace the language in 442 with the language in 673, which is a nursing one that already University supported. And don't believe we need any other amendments. Any discussion? Yes. So Chair votes aye on amending 442 with the language in SB 673. Any discussion? Others?

Chair votes aye. Vice Chair votes aye. [Roll Call]

Hold on. 637 and not 673. Okay. Yeah. Dyslexia.

Okay. [Roll Call]

Thank you. Okay. Senate Bill 1169, House Draft 1. This is the Hawaii Conference Center Revolving Fund, and recommendation is to pass as is. Actually, I want to amend that to change the effective date to upon approval. So hopefully we can get this off our table. Sorry, Vice Chair.

Okay, so House Bill 1169, HD1. Pass with amendments. [Roll Call]

Thank you. House Bill 1185, House Draft 2. Members, I'm going to recommend we defer this. Again, I don't necessarily think we need a working group. I think that CTAHR has a lot of information that can be gotten, and I hope that people will get together anyway and work this out and not necessarily have to have government to tell them, you know, that they got to put a group together to come up with this. So any discussion on this? Members, any objections?

Hearing none. Matter's deferred. Moving on to House Bill 1320, House Draft 1. This is requiring the University of Hawaii to collect and analyze and publicly report certain graduate outcome data. Members, I'm kind of torn on this measure. I'm going to go ahead and pass this out defect the defective date to July 31, 2050.

Put into the Committee report the concerns raised regarding the data regarding whether or not this position really is one that we can justify and some of the other things that was brought up in the meeting. Send it on to Ways and Means because it has money in it. And yeah, so I will do that. Is any discussion? Hearing none. Chair votes aye in amending House Bill 1320, House Draft 1.

Chair votes aye. Vice Chair votes aye. [Roll Call] Okay.

House Bill 1171, House Draft 2. This is relating to the University of Hawaii relief funding. Recommendation is to pass as is.

Recommendation to pass unamended. Chair votes aye. Vice Chair votes aye. [Roll Call]

Thank you. And we are done.