SB2602 amends the University of Hawaii tuition and fees special fund law to direct how tuition, tuition-related charges, and other student charges are handled and reported. The bill requires those revenues to be expended in accordance with Board of Regents policies governing systemwide operations, shared services, and cross-campus support, and it requires the university to submit an annual report to the Legislature showing tuition and fee revenues by campus and expenditures by campus and for systemwide purposes.
The bill also changes the fund’s year-end lapse rules. Under current law, campus balances in the tuition and fees special fund lapse to systemwide support at the end of each fiscal year; SB2602 adds a one-time provision that, on June 30, 2029, any unencumbered balance above the Board of Regents’ reserve level must lapse to the general fund. The measure is framed as a response to federal funding uncertainty and broader fiscal instability, with the stated goal of preserving state capacity to support critical programs if federal support declines.
Impact
SB2602 would amend Section 304A-2153, Hawaii Revised Statutes, governing the University of Hawaii Tuition and Fees Special Fund. It would strengthen legislative oversight of how tuition-related revenues are allocated, limit deviations from Board of Regents policy, and require detailed annual reporting to the Legislature. It would also create a specific transfer to the general fund in 2029 for any excess unencumbered balance above the reserve level, potentially reducing the amount retained in the university fund and increasing state general fund resources.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been received positively in committee, with unanimous or near-unanimous votes in the Senate Education Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The absence of recorded opposition in the available votes suggests broad support for the measure’s fiscal oversight and reserve-lapse framework. The bill’s findings emphasize prudence and preparedness in light of federal uncertainty, which likely contributed to its favorable reception.
Contention
The main policy tension is between preserving university autonomy over tuition and fee revenues and increasing state control over those funds. The University of Hawaii system may view the reporting requirements, the mandate to follow Board of Regents policies, and the 2029 lapse of excess reserves to the general fund as constraints on its financial flexibility. On the other hand, supporters likely see the bill as a safeguard to ensure tuition revenues are used transparently and that excess balances can help shore up the state’s general fund during fiscal uncertainty.
A resolution to direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to only present to the Governor enrolled House bills finally passed by both houses of the One Hundred Third Legislature.
Relating to nonsubstantive additions to, revisions of, and corrections in enacted codes, to the nonsubstantive codification or disposition of various laws omitted from enacted codes, and to conforming codifications enacted by the 88th Legislature to other Acts of that legislature.