HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

98

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting the department of business, economic development, and tourism to develop increased expertise to assist hawai`i businesses with procurement opportunities with the federal government and other state governments and territories.

 

WHEREAS, various agencies and departments within the federal government procure billions of dollars worth of goods and services to facilitate the functioning of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, states within the Union also collectively procure billions of dollars of goods and services to facilitate the functions of their respective state governments; and

WHEREAS, procurement for the federal and state governments represent opportunities for minority business, small businesses and for businesses in disadvantaged areas of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, an obstacle preventing many local businesses from fully seizing the opportunity to sell to the federal government and other state governments is the complexity of their respective procurement processes; and

WHEREAS, as an example, the federal government hosted several workshops to educate local subcontractors on the procedures and requirements of the federal procurement system for purposes of bidding on the recently awarded $6.9 billion military housing renovation project; and

WHEREAS, the State of Utah became a leader in bridging this knowledge gap by investing resources to develop a state office to assist local businesses with the federal procurement process; and

WHEREAS, the State of Utah has helped to create successful start-up businesses through procurement, including Uinta River Technology (URT), which is an outsourcing start-up company formed in early 1991 by the Northern Ute tribe with the help of the Utah state government that was awarded a 5-year, $73.8 million contract to process millions of Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services' arrival and departure forms; and

WHEREAS, URT gained more expertise in the high-tech area and eventually acquired a contract to scan airplane drawings and designs onto CD-ROM's for Hill Air Force base in Utah, the first contract where URT was a prime contractor; and

WHEREAS, the state of Utah repeated this model successfully for many of the Native American tribes residing within state boundaries, including the latest start-up company, Suh`dutsing Technologies, LLC, which specializes in data processing, data storage, website hosting, database design, network administration and installation, and customer support; and

WHEREAS, it appears that this model could be replicated here in Hawaii within a state agency like the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to assist minority groups, small business, and disadvantaged areas; and

WHEREAS, a state agency that has knowledge of the intricate federal procurement processes and myriad state procurement processes presents an opportunity for increased employment, increased revenue, and economic diversification for Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, with the expertise of a federal procurement specialist, Hawaii coffee growers together with Puerto Rican farmers agreed to sell coffee to the federal Department of Defense; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the legislature requests the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to develop further expertise within the department to assist Hawai`i businesses with procurement opportunities with the federal government and other State governments and territories; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Governor.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Procurement opportunities; increased expertise