WHEREAS, the HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program (HUBZone Program) was established under the federal Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 to stimulate economic development and create jobs in urban and rural communities; and

WHEREAS, under the HUBZone Program, federal contracting preferences and specialized assistance are offered to small businesses in historically underutilized business zones (HUBZones) designated by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); and

WHEREAS, to qualify for the HUBZone Program, a business must meet the following criteria:

and

WHEREAS, there are three HUBZone categories: Urban, Rural, and Native American; and

WHEREAS, the Urban designation is concurrent with the U.S. census, the Rural designation reflects annual employment and income adjustments, and the Native American designation involves federal recognition and boundary changes; and

WHEREAS, a portion of the Waianae Coast area has been designated as an urban HUBZone, based on a U.S. Census data; and

WHEREAS, the criteria, based on U.S. Census tracts that is used to designate only a portion of the Waianae area, arbitrarily divides Waianae into fragments that do not accurately reflect the community's belief in their hegemony; and

WHEREAS, as it currently stands, segments of the Waianae Coast are divided into census tracts that extend over the Kaala Mountain range and include Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Air Force Base; and

WHEREAS, several Waianae community small business owners have expressed frustration with this arrangement, citing examples of employees who live on the coast and on Hawaiian homestead land, yet these small businesses are not able to receive HUBZone benefits; and

WHEREAS, this situation goes against the original intent of the HUBZone Program, which is to stimulate economic development in areas suffering from chronic poverty rates; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that this body requests the U.S. Small Business Administration to re-examine the criteria for designating HUBZones under the HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program as it applies to the State of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and members of Hawaii's Congressional Delegation.

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