STAND. COM. REP. NO. 530

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1360

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Economic Development and Taxation, to which was referred S.B. No. 1360 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate $500,000, for grants and loans to community-based organizations on the Leeward (Waianae) Coast of Oahu for community economic development.

 

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) and the Office of Planning, DBEDT.

 

     Your Committee finds that some regions, particularly in more rural areas like the Waianae Coast, are less able to take advantage of a strong economy due to remote location, lack of access to traditional business opportunities and financial capital, and limited workforce training opportunities.  In addition, the people who live in these areas desire community economic development that supports their community values, which may be quite different from urban areas.

 

     Your Committee further finds that the Community-Based Economic Development (CBED) program in DBEDT has a long history of supporting such programs, many along the Waianae Coast.  And while the initiative in this measure focuses initially on the Leeward Coast of Oahu, the ultimate goal is to develop a successful partnership model that may later be adapted to work in communities throughout the State.

 

     Your Committee is in strong support of the assistance opportunities outlined in this measure, but notes that the biennium budget request also sought additional funds for existing CBED initiatives.  Your Committee has asked for detailed information from DBEDT regarding financial resources necessary for existing and new CBED programs, and it is the intent of your Committee to defer decisions on the appropriation amounts until that information is received.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure accordingly, by replacing the $500,000 appropriation with an unspecified amount.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Economic Development and Taxation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1360, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1360, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Economic Development and Taxation,

 

 

 

____________________________

CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair