SB1983

SECTION 1. Section 201-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§201‑17[]] Office of international affairs; established[.]; international liaison for the legislature. (a) There is established, within the department of business, economic development, and tourism, an office of international affairs.

(b) The office shall:

(1) Develop policies that promote and strengthen relations with other countries in the areas of international business, economy, culture, and the arts;

(2) Develop policies that promote transportation between, and tourism with, other countries;

(3) Develop and promote international telecommunications and high technology exchanges;

(4) Encourage the development of international sister-city programs, pairing Hawaii cities with cities around the globe for artistic, cultural, economic, educational, and faith-based exchanges;

(5) Develop and promote Hawaii as the economic, trade, commerce, transportation, banking, and tourism hub of the Pacific;

(6) Develop an international affairs and peace education curriculum that includes studies of international affairs and peace initiatives and takes a proactive, strategic approach to the development of policies that promote the prevention of national and international conflict, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict; and

(7) Provide for exchanges of individuals between Hawaii and other nations to develop international and peace-based initiatives.

(c) There is created, within the office, one full-time equivalent position of international liaison for the legislature, whose duty shall be to act as the liaison between the legislature and the official representatives of all visiting foreign countries and whose duties shall include planning and organizing the hosting of visits of all foreign delegations to the State on behalf of the legislature; provided that the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall provide direction for projects to be undertaken by the individual filling the position of international liaison for the legislature.

[~~(c)~~] (d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary[,] except as provided in subsection (c), if any of the responsibilities or duties of the office of international affairs under this section overlap with the responsibilities or duties of another agency or authority under this chapter, the office of international affairs shall have exclusive jurisdiction and authority over those responsibilities and duties."

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, for the full-time equivalent position of international liaison for the legislature within the office of international affairs of the department of business, economic development, and tourism.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of business, economic development, and tourism for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval, except that section 2 shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1983
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII