Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 1290 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide incentives in the procurement code to encourage state purchasing agencies to use locally-produced recycled products.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and Hawaiian Earth Products, Ltd.

Your Committees find that the procurement of recycled products made in Hawaii encourages the diversion of recyclable materials from our limited landfills and supports the local economy.

Therefore, your Committees support this measure, which will encourage all agencies to procure locally-produced recycled-content products whenever feasible. This measure also broadens the scope of the recycled-material preference to include nonpaper office products, vehicular and transportation products, parks and recreation products, and construction products.

In addition, this measure allows the existing procurement preference for in-state taxpayers to be used in conjunction with the recycled-content products preference and the Hawaii products preference. By combining these preferences, your Committees find that state purchasing agencies, with their enormous purchasing power, will seek out locally-made and recycled products.

Your Committees amended this measure by inserting a provision that makes only Hawaii corporations that provide recycled-content products eligible for a preference. Your Committees believe that more local companies will be encouraged to create recycled-content products with this amendment.

Your Committees also made several technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1290, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1290, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.