The House Committee on Higher Education on March 14, 2025, took up Senate Bill 1624 SD1, a measure that would require the University of Hawaii Board of Regents to expend funds appropriated for RIM (renew, improve, modernize) only for renewing, improving or modernizing existing facilities and not for current or anticipated capital-improvement projects. The bill would also require annual reports to the Legislature.

University witnesses opposed the bill as drafted. Albert Young and other university representatives explained how the RIM process operates: the Legislature appropriates a lump-sum RIM amount and the university prioritizes projects that address deferred maintenance, major repairs and modernization within that appropriation. Young described the annual running rate for scheduled maintenance as anywhere from $65 million to $85 million and said RIM provides flexibility to stretch limited appropriations across the most strategic needs. The Board of Regents must approve the capital program each fiscal year and receives quarterly and annual reports on project progress.

The Attorney General’s Office submitted comments raising constitutional concerns (Article 10) and the Department of Budget and Finance provided comments in the record. The committee chair said the university benefits from RIM’s flexibility and recommended deferring the bill indefinitely; the transcript records the recommendation but not a roll-call vote on the deferral.

Why it matters: RIM is the mechanism the university uses to address deferred maintenance and modernization when the Legislature provides lump-sum capital funds. If enacted as drafted, SB 1624 would narrow the purposes for which RIM funds could be used and could reduce the university’s ability to reallocate funds across projects to address the most critical needs.

The committee recommended indefinite deferral; no vote on the deferral is recorded in the hearing transcript.