House Higher Education Committee advances six Senate bills with committee amendments

After hearing testimony on six Senate bills that crossed over to the House, the House Higher Education Committee reconvened to take decision'making votes and advanced each measure with the chair'recommended amendments.

The bills advanced with similar committee actions: the chair generally recommended passage with HD1 amendments and defecting effective dates (often to 07/01/3000) to allow further drafting or referral to finance. For SB 3229 (University of Hawaii donor valuations) the chair recommended passage with amendments; the clerk recorded the recommendation as adopted. SB 2802 (Leeward bachelor's programs) was modified to remove an education preamble for Leeward and to move agricultural science language to a four'year campus and to defer appropriation details to the finance report. SB 2969 (Maui wildfire exposure study) and SB 2657 (Alzheimer's research center) were advanced with HD1 amendments that removed FTE counts and defected dates to permit continued work. SB 3238 (language access program) advanced with HD1 changes removing three FTEs. SB 3286 (facilities and student housing master plan) was directed to replace contents with a prior House bill's language and adjust reporting and master plan cadence.

The clerk called each bill for a roll call or voice vote and announced the chair'recommended actions were adopted. Where the transcript records detailed roll call for a bill, members present voted in favor; a small number of members were excused or recorded reservations in the transcript. The committee adjourned after scheduling one additional hearing later in the week.