CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 138-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2014

RE:    S.B. No. 2583

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam and Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2583, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL SPACE CENTER FOR EXPLORATION SYSTEMS AND NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION LASER COMMUNICATIONS GROUND STATION INITIATIVE,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for a National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems engineering assessment of a proposal to establish a laser optical communications ground station in Hawaii, leading to infrastructure construction beginning in 2016, contingent on a dollar-for-dollar match of funds from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that space laser technology has the potential to support laser communications between spacecraft and Earth, provide ten to one hundred times higher data rates than traditional radio frequency systems with the same mass and power, and stimulate the State's economy through the creation of high-tech jobs.  Your Committee on Conference further finds that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration conducted a detailed statistical analysis of weather patterns and identified Hawaii as the best site in the United States to establish the first laser optical communications ground station.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an appropriation amount of $250,000; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2014.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2583, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2583, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ CLIFT TSUJI, Co-Chair	____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair
____________________________ GREGG TAKAYAMA, Co-Chair	____________________________ RONALD D. KOUCHI, Co-Chair