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Officials back housekeeping fix to direct early-childhood stipends into Early Learning Special Fund
Summary
Officials from the Executive Office on Early Learning and the Early Learning Board testified in strong support of House Bill 1065 HD1, which would deposit stipend funds into the Early Learning Special Fund and repeal a redundant special fund; committee questions sought repayment and amounts repaid to date.
The Senate Committee on Education heard testimony in support of House Bill 1065 HD1 on March 10. The measure would require stipend funds paid under the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Stipend Fund Program to be deposited into the Early Learning Special Fund and repeal the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Special Fund.
"We are in strong support of HB 1065," said Yuko (Director, Executive Office on Early Learning). The Executive Office on Early Learning told the committee the House and Senate companion bills contain defective effective dates and requested the committee consider amending the effective date to "upon approval" as a housekeeping amendment.
Elaine Yamashita, speaking for the Early Learning Board, said the board "stands on its testimony" in support of the bill. Committee members asked about the program's repayment requirement for stipend recipients who do not complete the program. A staff member from the Executive Office on Early Learning explained that recipients who fail to complete the program for reasons such as family circumstances are sometimes required to repay stipend funds; staff said they could provide exact figures on how much has been paid and repaid and gave the committee an estimate that the total amounts were in the range of $20,000 to $30,000 based on the last calculation.
No formal committee action on HB 1065 was recorded in the transcript during the March 10 decision session.
Discussion and next steps: Committee members requested exact repayment totals and clarification of the effective date language; staff offered to provide the precise amounts and recommended the effective date be changed to upon approval to address the defective dates.
Votes at a glance: No recorded committee vote on HB 1065 HD1 in the March 10 transcript.
