Note: THIS IS AN UPDATE of an official governing organization at the College, and not a request for endorsement or action. Student Congress was unable to send out a mass email to all students because UH email is not to be used for lobbying or political endorsements. Any communication that was sent out to campus employees regarding this measure was distributed before we were reminded of this stipulation.
Last week, the companion bill on the Senate side of this process SB 2055 was heard at the Higher Education Committee (HRE) and not successful in continuing on in the process, and was deferred. UH Administration submitted testimony that this bill was not needed, as they intend to do a pilot study for three-years to determine the impact of reducing summer tuition. Student Congress is excited to hear that the UHCC office will be implementing this pilot study to measure the impact of reducing summer tuition for all Hawaii residents who are considered a “continuing student”. Student Congress does not have further details, as the timeline and details have yet to be widely shared.
Wednesday afternoon, Student Congress attended and testified at the House hearing on HB 1779 with the House Higher Education and Technology (HET) Committee. Through testimony of sharing their experiences, Student Congress was successful in receiving committee support to have the bill referred to the House Finance (FIN) Committee.
The next steps of Student Congress are to meet with House Representatives involved with the House Finance Committee, and garner support to have it added to their upcoming agenda. Student Congress is also working to rally more people to testify in regards to HB 1779. Should the measure pass the House Finance Committee, it will cross over to the Senate.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update. If you have questions, please connect with Student Congress at kapccsc@hawaii.edu
