Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Media, Arts, Science, and Technology and Business and Economic Development, to which was referred H.B. No. 3063, H.D. 1, entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii for the expansion of technology training opportunities.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii, the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, the Hawaii Science and Technology Council, and Enterprise Honolulu.

The Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii (EDAH) is composed of four private-sector economic development boards whose members are all active members and officers of the county-level Workforce Investment Boards and the statewide Workforce Development Council. For ten years, the economic development boards have been involved in implementing several project-based learning efforts on the neighbor islands such as Project EAST, Aloha 'Ike, and Women in Technology, to promote enthusiasm for science, technical training, and higher education. Recently, the students from Project EAST on Maui, Kauai, and the island of Hawaii won several national awards in science and technology at the EAST National Conference. EDAH wants to develop comparable programs on Oahu and continue to support partnership workforce development and outreach that will address state business, education, and labor goals. Partnership efforts will complement and expand the existing programs on the neighbor islands, and will focus on creating excitement for new business development and careers in science and technology.

Your Committees find that appropriating funds as a grant to the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii will provide the necessary financial assistance to develop partnership initiatives that will improve and expand the technology workforce in Hawaii. The sum appropriated shall not be appropriated unless matching funds are provided and the resulting projects are consistent with the state plan for workforce development.

Your Committees have amended this measure by replacing the blank appropriation amount with the amount of $500,000 to fund the development of partnership initiatives.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Media, Arts, Science, and Technology and Business and Economic Development that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 3063, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 3063, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.