STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1553

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.R. No. 152

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.R. No. 152 entitled:

"HOUSE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY AND LABOR AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON LABOR TO CONVENE A JOINT HEARING ON THE LABOR FORCE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROPOSED TURTLE BAY RESORT EXPANSION AND THE IMPACTS THAT A LARGE INCREASE IN EMPLOYEES MAY HAVE ON THE SPARSELY POPULATED NORTH SHORE OF OAHU,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this resolution is to request that the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor and the House Committee on Labor and Public Employment convene a joint hearing to gather and review information on the labor force requirements and the impact on the surrounding community of the proposed expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort.

     Keep the North Shore Country testified in support of this measure.  An individual offered testimony in opposition.  The Pacific Resource Partnership and several concerned individuals offered comments on the measure.

     The convening of a joint Senate and House committee hearing would enable the legislature to better understand any potential positive and negative effects that the Turtle Bay Resort expansion may have on the North Shore area of Hawaii.  Your committee finds that the language of the measure should more accurately reflect the need to first gather further information and then to make an assessment of the impact of the expansion. Accordingly, your committee has amended this measure by deleting the reference in the title to the "Sparsely Populated North Shore of Oahu" and inserting language that better describes the area, adding a paragraph that reflects the specific unemployment rate of the Hauula/Kaaawa region, and making other changes for consistency and style to reflect the intent of the committee to explore the subject matter in further detail.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 152, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committees on Tourism & Culture and Economic Development & Business Concerns in the form attached hereto as H.R. No. 152, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,

____________________________

ALEX M. SONSON, Chair