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THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
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
 3   resident construction and supply firms, and high costs
 4   unfavorable to the welfare of Hawaii residents and to the
 5   economic health of the State; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, the legislature further finds that as
 8   construction is one of the mainstays of Hawaii's economy,
 9   supporting and promoting this industry will help boost the
10   State's overall economy; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, as locally-financed building projects have slowed
13   down, local contractors look toward federal military contracts
14   as a primary source of income, and section 8078 of the Federal
15   Defense Appropriations Act of 1986 requires that when the
16   unemployment rate in Hawaii exceeds the national rate of
17   unemployment, contractors are required to employ local
18   residents who possess or would be able to acquire promptly the
19   necessary 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 8078 of the Federal Defense Appropriations
24   Act of 1986 or the influx of millions of dollars in federal
25   funds for military construction projects in Hawaii and that
26   federal projects in Hawaii are being awarded instead to large
27   mainland contractors who use their own subcontractors and bring
28   in 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 of the United
37   States Defense Appropriations Act of 1986; and 

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

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