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Committee approves multiple education and workforce measures, including Kuleana pathways and Guard tuition assistance
Summary
The House Higher Education Committee approved a set of bills on March 25 — SB2320 (Kuleana active pathways), SB2706 (ag workforce pilot), SB2138 (Hawaii National Guard tuition assistance) — and passed related resolutions asking the Board of Regents for audits and mission reviews; votes were recorded as chair recommendations adopted.
On March 25 the House Higher Education Committee voted to adopt chair recommendations on a set of bills and resolutions affecting workforce development, higher education and institutional review.
SB2320 (SD1 HD1), which establishes the Kuleana active pathways program to connect DOE, agriculture and community organizations and funds the initiative, passed as is with broad oral and written support from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Hawaii Farm Bureau. The chair noted the bill already had a defective effective date.
SB2706 (SD1 HD1), an agriculture and biosecurity workforce development pilot within the Agribusiness Development Corporation in collaboration with UH community colleges and state agencies, also passed unamended; DLNR and the Hawaii Farm Bureau testified in support.
SB2138 (HD1) expands the Hawaii National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program to include graduate degrees for qualified enlisted personnel; Colonel Nathan Teal (deputy chief of staff of logistics, Hawaii National Guard) and University of Hawaii representatives testified in support and the committee passed the measure as is.
The committee also passed several resolutions in tandem, including HCR53/HR49 requesting a system-wide associate degree completion audit by the Board of Regents, HCR54/HR50 requesting the Board consider renaming Leeward Community College to Pukuloa Community College, and HCR110/HR102 and related measures asking the Board to review and clarify campus missions. Board of Regents testimony was not present in the hearing; university representatives said they will take up the issues at their next meeting.
All the chair recommendations were adopted in roll call recorded by the clerk; several members were noted as excused during votes. The committee adjourned following the items.
What it means: The votes advance multiple education and workforce bills toward next-stage consideration while placing institutional requests to the Board of Regents on the record and asking for follow-up actions.
