New Lingle plan
would boost financial
autonomy for UH

New measures could also affect
the ability of the university
to build new dorms

The University of Hawaii would gain more authority over such things as its own finances, purchases and construction projects under a package of legislative proposals announced yesterday by Gov. Linda Lingle.

Lingle said she will introduce the measures, sent to her office by the university administration and the Board of Regents, to lawmakers after the 2005 session begins Wednesday.

"The University of Hawaii is a critical part of our economic and social infrastructure, but in order to reach its full potential, the university needs the autonomy to chart its own direction," Lingle said in a news release.

Among the bills is one that would let the university issue up to $250 million in revenue bonds to build and renovate dormitories at the Manoa and Hilo campuses.

A separate bill would give the university the ability to enter into partnerships with private developers. Officials have already said they are exploring partnerships with private developers to build or renovate three dormitories on the Manoa campus that would create an additional 800 dorm beds.

The flagship Manoa campus currently has dorm space for 3,000 students. Last summer, the campus found itself with a waiting list before the start of the school year for more than 1,000 students who had to scramble to find off-campus accommodations.

The university has already solicited proposals from private developers for three projects: the dorm project at Manoa, the cancer research center at the medical school's new Kakaako campus and the long-awaited campus for UH-West Oahu, according to Jan Yokota, the university's director of capital improvements.

The proposed legislation would give the university more flexibility in such partnerships, spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka said.

Meanwhile, another bill would exempt the university from the state's purchasing law passed last year and allow it to buy its own goods and services. That includes buying everything from paper clips to sophisticated scientific equipment.

"Current procedures under state law make it difficult for us to proceed efficiently or expeditiously," Tanaka said. "It just becomes an onerous bureaucratic quagmire for us."

Proposed legislation also would allow the university to manage and regulate activities on land it owns and leases, such as enforcing parking regulations on campus.

Another bill would make permanent the university's authority to operate its own financial and accounting systems, extending a 1986 law that is set to expire on June 30.