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

  REQUESTING THE HAWAII INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS TO CONDUCT A
    PUBLIC POLICY REPORT ON HAWAII AND THE NEW ECONOMY.


 1        WHEREAS, in the last fifteen years, a "New Economy" has
 2   emerged in the United States; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, this economic change has fundamentally altered
 5   industrial and occupational order, introduced unprecedented
 6   levels of entrepreneurial dynamism and competition, and
 7   initiated a dramatic trend toward globalization; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, this "New Economy" has been spurred by advances
10   in technologies and has effectively restructured the way
11   businesses operate in today's marketplace; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, a recent report authored by the Progressive
14   Policy Institute and entitled, "The State New Economy Index,
15   Benchmarking Economic Transformations in the States", has begun
16   to assess how the fifty states have responded to -- and
17   encouraged -- these fundamental changes; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, in this report, Hawaii has attained an overall
20   rank of twenty-sixth among the fifty states; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, while Hawaii does well in some areas -- foreign
23   direct investment, workforce education, and education
24   technology in the schools -- it ranks poorly in a number of
25   critical areas, particularly new business startups and high
26   technology jobs; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, if Hawaii's businesses and residents are to
29   compete successfully in this "New Economy", the State must
30   encourage and support growth in business start-ups and high
31   technology job opportunities; and
32   
33        WHEREAS, Hawaii possesses both capabilities and resources
34   which hold tremendous promise for diversifying and expanding
35   our economic base, as well as for advancing our education,
36   training, and employment opportunities into the 21st Century;
37   and

 
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 1   
 2        WHEREAS, these resources and capabilities already exist in
 3   such areas as astronomy, alternative and renewable energy,
 4   aviation management, biotechnology, engineering and
 5   architectural innovation, environmental protection, healthcare,
 6   information technology, ocean research and development, remote
 7   sensing, and telecommunications, and give our State a
 8   competitive advantage in these areas; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, with the onset of the New Millennium, it is both
11   timely and urgent that we develop new entrepreneurial pathways
12   to overcome pessimism and enable Hawaii's economy to move
13   briskly ahead into the 21st Century; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, it is mainly by building government-industry-
16   university partnerships that we can improve our ability to
17   develop and market Hawaii's environmental, human, and
18   technological resources and capabilities; and
19   
20        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs (HIPA) is
21   a nonpartisan and independent research and educational
22   organization whose mission is to provide research, analysis,
23   and recommendations on public policy issues facing Hawaii and
24   the global community, and to provide opportunities for
25   individuals to develop as productive leaders and citizens in
26   society; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, HIPA's Center for Public Policy produces research
29   briefs, issue papers, and publications that provide fact, data,
30   and analysis that enable decision makers to make sound policy
31   decisions that benefit Hawaii; now, therefore,
32   
33        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
34   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
35   Representatives concurring, that the Hawaii Institute for
36   Public Affairs, conduct a public policy report on Hawaii's
37   strategic environmental, human, and technological resources and
38   capabilities, focusing on activities that can be initiated
39   currently but whose impacts will mainly be felt in the
40   formation of a New Economy; and
41   
42        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this New Economy report shall

 
 
 
 
 
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 1   include but not be limited to:
 2   
 3        (1)  A summary of Hawaii's strategic environmental, human,
 4             and technological resources and capabilities that can
 5             be used to attract overseas investment and diversify
 6             the State's economy;
 7   
 8        (2)  Estimates of current national and international
 9             trends and future demands for products and services
10             in key industries that correspond to the strategic
11             resources and capabilities identified above,
12             including evaluations of Hawaii's competitive ability
13             to meet these demands;
14   
15        (3)  Recommendations for promoting and enhancing the
16             visibility and attractiveness of Hawaii's strategic
17             assets in world markets; and
18   
19        (4)  A strategy for promoting and sustaining partnerships
20             among government, industrial, and educational
21             policies and programs that can facilitate networking
22             of resources, expedite technology transfers, and
23             foster entrepreneurial growth; 
24   
25   and
26   
27        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Institute for
28   Public Affairs shall work in collaboration with all appropriate
29   government, business, labor, community, and educational
30   institutions and leaders statewide in preparing this report;
31   and
32   
33        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hawaii Institute for
34   Public Affairs address in its New Economy report, the potential
35   negative effects on excluding rural and indigent communities
36   who do not have access to technology or who lack sufficient
37   educational and technological skills on the State's social and
38   economic well being; and
39   
40        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this New Economy report shall
41   be submitted to the Legislature not later than twenty days
42   prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and

 
 
 
 
 
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 1   
 2        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this
 3   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of
 4   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Governor, the
 5   University of Hawaii Board of Regents, the High Technology
 6   Trade Association, the Pacific Resource Partnership, and the
 7   Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs.
 8 
 9 
10 
11                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________