STAND. COM. REP. NO. 184

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1003

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Economic Development and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 1003 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TECHNOLOGY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide matching funds for Phase II and Phase III grants of the federal Small Business Innovation Research Program to encourage and enable small companies to commercialize new technologies more effectively.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the High Technology Development Corporation; Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc.; Oceanit Laboratories, Inc.; and Ibis Networks.

     Your Committee finds that the Hawaii small business innovation research program has been instrumental in supporting Hawaii businesses who win coveted federal research and development funding through the federal Small Business Innovation Research Program.  The Hawaii program has also assisted Hawaii businesses in efforts to further develop their intellectual property.  However, the program is currently limited to providing matching funds for Phase I awards, which in turn means that local businesses are limited from fully commercializing and translating their research into economic gains and job opportunities.  This measure would enable the Hawaii small business innovation research program to supplement federal funding for companies who are awarded federal grants to develop new technologies through prototyping, customer interface modeling, and innovational production.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Economic Development and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1003 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Economic Development and Technology,

____________________________

GLENN WAKAI, Chair