SCR134 SD2

WHEREAS, the Department of Education and the Department of Health are two of the largest state departments in terms of budget, personnel, and purchases; and

WHEREAS, current law requires procurement preferences ("buy local") to be given to "Hawaii products" under section 103D‑1002, Hawaii Revised Statutes, defined under section 103D‑1001, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as products that are mined, excavated, produced, manufactured, raised, or grown in the State where the input constitutes no less than twenty-five per cent of the manufactured cost; and

WHEREAS, section 3-120-4, Hawaii Administrative Rules, exempts the procurement of certain goods and services from chapter 103D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, including but not limited to the purchase of fresh meats and produce; and

WHEREAS, Act 8, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, created the Hawai‘i 2050 Sustainability Task Force; and

WHEREAS, Act 8 was based on the belief of the Legislature that government is responsible not only for resolving daily and annual issues, but also to assure the sustainability of the State for generations to come (Auditor's Report, December 2005); and

WHEREAS, one of the major concerns of the Hawai‘i 2050 Sustainability Task Force was the reality that Hawaii is an island state and is dependent heavily on imports of literally most things; and

WHEREAS, to the extent that Hawaii may reduce its dependence on purchases of out-of-state products through buying from in-state suppliers, the more it benefits the local economy and the more it reduces our dependence on shipping; and

WHEREAS, one of the "Priority actions: Intermediate steps for the year 2020" of the Hawai‘i 2050 Sustainability Plan is to "increase production and consumption of local foods and products, particularly agriculture; and

WHEREAS, local diversified agricultural produce includes fruits and vegetables such as banana, longan, lychee, papaya, pineapple, baby green lettuce, romaine lettuce, round onion, taro, and tomato; local cattle farms produce beef and furnish milk; and

WHEREAS, "buy local" is critical to the long-term sustainability of the food and manufacturing sectors of Hawaii's economy; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education and the Department of Health are major state government purchasers of food stuffs and other goods and products that can be locally grown or produced if the local demand is sufficient; and

WHEREAS, furthermore, recycling has been a major theme of the Legislature, and it is vital that the State create partnerships with the private sector to help overcome any obstacles, including the lack of commercial composting facilities, in order to provide additional opportunities for the purchase of locally produced products that are compostable, and the recycling of polystyrene food ware that can be used locally to produce new food ware or related products; and

WHEREAS, currently, there is only one manufacturer of polystyrene food ware in Hawaii that meets with the Legislature's goals of sustainability and providing additional manufacturing employment opportunities in the State; and

WHEREAS, further effort is needed to encourage all polystyrene food ware used in and food waste from Hawaii food service facilities, including those operated by the Department of Education, the Department of Health, and hotels and fast food restaurants, to be recycled in order to promote more jobs and a stronger sustainable future; and

WHEREAS, a similar recycling program has already been successfully implemented in Massachusetts where both food waste and polystyrene food trays are separated in cafeterias and sent to their respective locations for recycling; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education and the Department of Health play major roles, with their combined purchasing power, in helping Hawaii to meet the priority action of increasing production, particularly in agriculture, and consumption of local foods and products, and in the promotion of the recycling of food ware and food waste; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education and the Department of Health are urged in their respective procurements to practice "buy local" to the maximum extent possible to encourage sustainability; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education and the Department of Health are urged to develop and implement polystyrene food ware and food waste recycling programs to promote more jobs and a stronger sustainable future; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, Director of Health, and the Governor.

Report Title:

Buy Local; Sustainability; Dept of Health; Dept of Education

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	134
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII