STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3180

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.R. No. 40

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Economic Development, Government Operations and Housing, to which was referred S.R. No. 40 entitled:

 

"SENATE RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND SUPPORTING THE PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL SPACE CENTER FOR EXPLORATION SYSTEMS' COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION AND PRIVATE INDUSTRIES IN THE AREAS OF BASALTIC CONCRETE AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND REQUESTING COLLABORATION TO EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR APPLICATIONS OF BASALTIC CONCRETE AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Commend and support the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems' (PISCES) collaborative work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and private industries in the areas of basaltic concrete and additive manufacturing; and

 

     (2)  Request the State to collaborate with PISCES, county agencies, and private industries to explore opportunities for applications of basaltic concrete and additive manufacturing to reduce Hawaii's dependence on imported concrete.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; PISCES; and three individuals.

 

     Your Committees find that as a result of the similarity of Hawaii's volcanic dust and lava to the regolith on the surface of the moon and Mars, PISCES is assuming a global leadership role in the development of technologies that potentially will support the manufacture of concrete and other materials that may be used to construct facilities on other planetary bodies.  Research and development to support innovative technologies in basalt concrete composition and delivery is an attractive and self-sustaining alternative to continued reliance on cement and bitumen imports.  PISCES has entered into research and development alliances with various private industry partners and has been invited by NASA to participate in a two-to-three year NASA research program on three-dimensional additive construction using basalt regolith.  PISCES has secured a leadership role for the State in the maturation of these pioneering technologies and advancing the future well-being of the State.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Economic Development, Government Operations and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 40 and recommend its adoption.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Economic Development, Government Operations and Housing,

 

____________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

 

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair