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 S.B. No. 2078 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii (EDAH) for the purpose of improving and expanding the technology workforce in Hawaii.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; the University of Hawaii; the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii; the Office of Economic Development, the County of Kauai; the Kauai Economic Development Board, Inc.; the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board; the Maui Economic Development Board; the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association; the Maui County Farm Bureau; Trex Hawaii, LLC; Monsanto Hawaii; General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems; and several private individuals.

The Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii 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 five 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. EDAH wants to develop comparable programs on Oahu, which will create an educational pipeline to the University of Hawaii and the community colleges statewide. Additionally, EDAH wants 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.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

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 S.B. No. 2078, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2078, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.