Chair Takulia Garrett convened the House Committee on Higher Education on Friday, Jan. 31, and the panel voted to advance six bills to the next stage with the chair’s recommended amendments (HD1 versions), including inserting defective dates and leaving appropriations/FTEs blank for the Finance Committee to consider.

The committee moved forward measures to establish a Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy Special Fund to support pharmacist workforce assessment and planning (HB 223); to appropriate (placeholder) funds for a rat lungworm laboratory at University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (HB 940); to create an “Aloha Intelligence Institute” within the University of Hawai‘i to support statewide AI initiatives (HB 546); to establish an early learning apprenticeship grant program (HB 549); to add the Department of Taxation to the statewide longitudinal data system (HB 1172); and to require the UH system to collect and publish graduate outcome data and develop a dashboard (HB 1320).

Why it matters: The pharmacy measure aims to create a pharmacy workforce center funded by a proposed workforce assessment fee to collect workforce data and coordinate retention and loan-repayment efforts that proponents say would help address rural shortages. The AI and graduate-outcomes bills would create institutional capacity at the University of Hawai‘i; the apprenticeship bill targets workforce development in early learning; and the taxation-data bill would allow certain aggregated wage data to be shared with UH and other agencies for program evaluation and workforce analysis.

Pharmacy center (HB 223). Christopher Fernandez, executive officer for the Board of Pharmacy, provided the board’s comments. Corey Sanders of the Hawaii Pharmacists Association testified the center would collect workforce data and “serve as a voice of the profession,” and said the measure is intended to be self‑sustaining through a fee structure. Ray Matsumoto, dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy in Hilo, and Kimberly Mikami of Molokai Drugs testified in support; Mikami described rural retention challenges and cited an estimated four‑year off‑island pharmacy cost of about $107,800 (not including room and board). The dean said Hawaii has a little over 2,000 pharmacists licensed in the state (not all necessarily practicing here) and that the proposed fee structure was modeled to cover a director’s salary and basic operations. The committee voted to pass HB 223 with amendments, inserting a defective date of 07/01/3000 and leaving fee/amount items blank for further discussion.

Rat lungworm lab (HB 940). Dean Ray Matsumoto stood on written testimony in support of the rat lungworm lab at UH Hilo; the Department of Health’s Disease Outbreak Control Division also submitted supportive testimony. The committee removed the appropriation from the bill and noted the Finance Committee will determine an amount; the committee report will reflect the bill’s originally proposed $500,000. The measure moved forward as HD1 with a defective date of 07/01/3000.

AI institute (HB 546). Vasilis Sermos, University of Hawai‘i vice president, described a three‑pronged seed‑funding approach (federal funding, philanthropy, and possible state investment) and said the institute would initially incubate within the university’s research area with a long‑term aim to become a systemwide standalone entity that could issue degrees. The committee deleted appropriations and FTEs from the bill and advanced it as HD1 with a defective date.

Early learning apprenticeship grants (HB 549). Witnesses supporting the bill included Nathan Murata, dean of the UH College of Education; Yuko Arikawa Cross, director of the Executive Office on Early Learning; and representatives from Honolulu’s Department of Community Services, Early Childhood Action Strategy, and Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network. Testimony described registered apprenticeship programs that combine employer‑paid work, classroom instruction, and supports; one apprentice’s account was read into the record about completing credentials while working and caring for family. The committee added language declaring the program a matter of statewide concern, made technical edits, and advanced the bill as HD1.

Department of Taxation data sharing (HB 1172). Winston Wong testified for the Department of Taxation and noted concern about protecting confidential taxpayer information; the bill’s current language, the department said, addresses those concerns by allowing only certain aggregated wage data to be provided. Vice President Deborah Halbert and UH representatives supported the bill, describing the value of aggregated wage data for workforce and outcome analysis. The committee passed HB 1172 as HD1 with a defective date.

Graduate outcomes dashboard (HB 1320). Deborah Halbert, vice president for academic strategy at the University of Hawai‘i, testified in support. She said some employment elements are more accessible with Department of Taxation aggregate data but that the university can operationalize HB 1320 without HB 1172. The committee removed FTEs and appropriations from the HD1, added technical edits, and advanced the measure.

Votes at a glance: The committee recorded roll‑call support for the chair’s recommendations (HD1) on all six bills; no ‘no’ votes or formal reservations were recorded on the floor during the decision session. Members recorded voting “aye”: Chair Takulia Garrett, Vice Chair Amato, Representative Evsland, Representative Coppella, Representative Keelah, Representative LaChica, Representative Olds, Representative Sayama, Representative Woodson, Representative Muraoka, and Representative Souza. The committee’s recommendations were adopted for each measure and the meeting recessed for decision making before reconvening to vote.

Committee procedure note: At the hearing’s start, Chair Garrett announced procedural intentions for the committee: to file hearing notices at least 72 hours when possible (the House rule minimum is 48 hours), to release received testimony by 5 p.m. the day before hearings (rather than two hours before), and to defer bills that receive substantive amendments (HT1) to the next hearing while circulating proposed amendment language in advance.

What’s next: For several bills the committee withheld appropriations and FTEs and inserted defective dates to allow further consideration by the Finance Committee. The HD1 versions will move forward in the legislative process with the committee’s recommendations and the accompanying committee report notes.