HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
192 |
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
convening the economic recovery task force and requesting the governor's participation.
WHEREAS, in 1997, while virtually every other state except Hawaii was enjoying one of the strongest economic expansions in United States history, Hawaii had been mired in a seven-year economic slump with job losses and inflation-adjusted falling tax revenues; and
WHEREAS, in response, on August 4, 1997, the Economic Revitalization Task Force formed by then Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano, Senate President Norman Mizuguchi, and House Speaker Joseph M. Souki, held its inaugural meeting to examine and consider major economic reforms by examining the State's tax structure, government regulations, educational level of Hawaii's work force, and the economic implications of controversial court decisions; and
WHEREAS, the mission of the Economic Revitalization Task Force was to make recommendations to boost the State's economy; and
WHEREAS, the Task Force, consisting of twenty-one members that included the heads of the State's leading industries and labor unions, set up five work groups to concentrate on the broad issues of:
(1) Education and workforce training;
(2) Business climate;
(3) Role of government;
(4) Economic development; and
(5) Taxation; and
WHEREAS, twenty to thirty individuals that included leaders from various communities throughout the State served on each of the five work groups; and
WHEREAS, the work groups met at least once a week in facilitated sessions, from August through September 1997, and heard from various experts and received input from the public; and
WHEREAS, over three days in October, 1997, the Task Force considered recommendations made by the five work groups and met to develop overall final recommendations; and
WHEREAS, on October 22, 1997, the Task Force presented its final recommendations to the Legislature and to the public and began holding more than a dozen town meetings throughout the State ‑‑ some broadcast via television and radio ‑‑ to generate support for the recommendations; and
WHEREAS, the United States is now undergoing a financial and economic crisis rivaling, and perhaps exceeding, that of the 1930s, and both the developed and developing countries of the world are experiencing in a global economic decline; and
WHEREAS, the State's economy is currently entering a period of economic decline that is more serious than the situation experienced by Hawaii in the late 1990s and that could possibly continue for quite an extended period; and
WHEREAS, given the current situation in Hawaii, it is more necessary than ever to take affirmative and broad-ranging steps to address problems, both structural and non-structural, that face the State; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature hereby convenes the Economic Recovery Task Force to address the economic crisis facing the State; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests the Economic Recovery Task Force consist of twenty-one members, seven of whom are to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and seven of whom are to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to fully participate in the activities of the Economic Recovery Task Force and to appoint the remaining seven members to the Economic Recovery Task Force; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests the Economic Recovery Task Force organize and conduct itself in a similar manner as the 1997 Economic Revitalization Task Force, including the establishment of work groups to focus on specific issue areas, with the number of issue work groups and issue areas to be determined by the Economic Recovery Task Force; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is further requested to direct all relevant executive state agencies to participate substantively in the activities of the Economic Recovery Task Force and to provide administrative and technical support, as necessary; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Economic Recovery Task Force is requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any necessary proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and to the heads of all state departments.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Economic Recovery Task Force; Report to 2010 Legislature