Bill seeks faculty and program funding for defense‑sector workforce and intelligence studies; senators press campuses to fill existing vacancies

Senate Bill 1502 would appropriate funds to establish faculty positions, student programs and facilities to strengthen workforce development for Hawaii's defense and intelligence sectors, with planned activities at UH Mānoa and UH West Oʻahu.

Denise Conan and West Oʻahu officials described a pilot program to support intelligence studies and workforce pipelines in the Asia‑Pacific region. Harold Bako, vice chancellor for academic affairs at UH West Oʻahu, and Dr. Frank Kudo of West Oʻahu's business and cyber division said the campuses stand ready to expand instruction and coordination. Industry witnesses including Steven Sasaki and local defense stakeholders emphasized demand: "our workload in the next 5 years, dollars 9,000,000,000 in construction, we need all the, we need all these people coming out to support our industry," said Steven Sasaki.

Students and faculty testified on educational benefits. "These are life changing experiences for our students," said Jairus (last name not specified), who described programs that help students obtain security clearances and compete for federal jobs.

Senators asked pointedly about existing vacancies: West Oʻahu testified two faculty positions had been vacated (one left August 2023) and searches were underway; senators pressed for concrete fill dates and urged campuses to prioritize filling existing openings before new appropriations. The committee recommended SD1 technical amendments, blanked appropriation amounts, deferred the effective date to July 31, 2050 and included a committee‑report request that campuses demonstrate hiring progress on currently vacant positions.