THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            18
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  URGING MILITARY AND FEDERAL AGENCIES TO HONOR THE DEFINITION OF
    STATE RESIDENT FOR CONTRACTS.


 1      WHEREAS, the legislature finds that there exists in the
 2 State continuing high unemployment, underutilization of resident
 3 construction and supply firms, and high costs unfavorable to the
 4 welfare of Hawaii residents and to the economic health of the
 5 State; and
 6 
 7      WHEREAS, the legislature further finds that as construction
 8 is one of the mainstays of Hawaii's economy, supporting and
 9 promoting this industry will help boost the State's overall
10 economy; and
11 
12      WHEREAS, as locally-financed building projects have slowed
13 down, local contractors look toward federal military contracts as
14 a primary source of income, and section 8077 of the Federal
15 Defense Appropriations Act of 1988 requires that when the
16 unemployment rate in Hawaii exceeds the national rate of
17 unemployment, contractors are required to employ local residents
18 who possess or would be able to acquire promptly the necessary
19 skills to perform the federal contract; and
20 
21      WHEREAS, despite this provision, local contractors argue
22 that local contractors and local laborers are not benefitting
23 from either section 8077 of the Federal Defense Appropriations
24 Act of 1988 or the influx of millions of dollars in federal funds
25 for military construction projects in Hawaii and that federal
26 projects in Hawaii are being awarded instead to large mainland
27 contractors who use their own subcontractors and bring in
28 mainland workers instead of hiring Hawaii residents; and
29 
30      WHEREAS, as a result of this situation, a large percentage
31 of federal moneys appropriated for defense projects in Hawaii
32 leave Hawaii without a favorable effect on the economy; and 
33 
34      WHEREAS, one reason given for failure to strictly enforce
35 the requirement to employ Hawaii residents is that the term
36 "state resident" is not defined in section 8078 and; 
37 

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            18
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      WHEREAS, a definition of "state resident" will provide a
 2 clear, objective, measurable standard that can be easily
 3 followed, copied, and enforced by federal contracting officers in
 4 enforcing the preference provisions in federal law, and thereby
 5 keep profits and wages from military construction projects in the
 6 State; now, therefore
 7 
 8      BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature of
 9 the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
10 Representatives concurring, that military and federal agencies
11 are urged to honor the following definition of "state resident"
12 for the purpose of awarding contracts in Hawaii:
13 
14      For purposes of the employment preference in federal law in
15      favor of state residents, "state resident" means an
16      individual, including a corporation, limited liability
17      company, partnership, and other business entity, who resides
18      in the State at least two hundred days of the year; has
19      filed a Hawaii resident income tax return in the taxable
20      year immediately preceding a bid for a federal contract, and
21      has paid all amounts owing on that tax return.  An
22      individual who was a state resident, who left the State to
23      attend school or serve in the armed forces of the United
24      States of America, and returned to the State is a state
25      resident, even though the individual has not recently
26      resided in the State for at least two hundred days or filed
27      a Hawaii resident income tax return or paid all amounts
28      owing on that tax return; 
29 
30 and
31 
32      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
33 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the appropriate federal
34 and military contracting agents. 
35 
36 
37                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________