WHEREAS, Foreign-Trade Zones are established in accordance with federal law under chapter 212, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's Foreign-Trade Zone No. 9, at Honolulu Harbor, was authorized by the United States Foreign-Trade Zones Board in February, 1965; and

WHEREAS, there are currently seven active Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii’s strong economy, a significant rise in petroleum prices, and increased fueling activity pushed overall FTZ activity up over eighty percent in the past two years, resulting in the total value of merchandise received and forwarded in all activated FTZ sites in Hawaii reaching $6,500,000,000 in the past fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, in 2005, 278 companies used the FTZ program, handling 188 types of merchandise from 33 countries; and

WHEREAS, these seven active sites provide direct and indirect employment for approximately 2,400 persons, and last year boasted capital improvements exceeding $31,000,000 and exports of approximately $632,000,000; and

WHEREAS, business activities such as manufacturing, assembly, storage, distribution, exhibiting, testing, sampling, and modifying of goods or products may be undertaken in a FTZ without deposit of government fees; and

WHEREAS, a FTZ is an attractive and effective incentive for economic development and the creation of job opportunities; and

WHEREAS, it is the mission of Hawaii’s FTZ program to make the benefits of the FTZ program available to as many qualifying companies as possible; and

WHEREAS, the County of Hawaii is actively pursuing strategies to expand and diversify its economic base and currently has sufficient natural and infrastructural resources to facilitate a substantial increase in business activity; and

WHEREAS, the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) is one of Hawaii’s most successful economic development projects and NELHA’s tenants have had success in dramatically increasing Hawaii’s exports, primarily due to the growth of deep seawater bottling companies and aquaculture firms; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii FTZ program has been working closely with officials from NELHA and the County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development to help Hawaii businesses compete in external markets and have identified businesses at NELHA’s 870-acre science and ocean technology park in Kailua-Kona on the Island of Hawaii as potential new users for the program; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Chief Executive Officer of NELHA are requested to continue their efforts to seek authorization from the United States Foreign-Trade Zones Board to establish, operate, and maintain a Foreign-Trade Zone at NELHA’s 870-acre science and ocean technology park; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Foreign-Trade Zones Board is requested to act favorably upon such application; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Chief Executive Officer of the Natural Energy Laboratory of

Hawaii Authority, and the Executive Secretary of the United States Foreign-Trade Zones Board.

Report Title:

Authorizing Foreign-Trade Zone at NELHA at Kailua-Kona