STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2956

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2558

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Technology, to which was referred H.B. No. 2558, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CREATIVE LAB HAWAII,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism for the Creative Lab Hawaii program to:

(1) Expand its programs and services to three neighbor islands;

(2) Develop high school programs in partnership with the Department of Education; and

(3) Establish an unspecified number of full-time equivalent Creative Lab Hawaii Project Coordinator positions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Hawaii Technology Development Corporation; Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i; Creative Lab Hawaii; Marc Delorme Productions, LLC; Palm Records, Inc.; and fifteen individuals.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's creative arts economy, which includes film, performing and visual arts, music, fashion, literary arts and more, contributes to the diversification of Hawaii's economy to include innovation- and knowledge-based industries. Your Committee further finds that the Creative Lab Hawaii, a state collaborative creative industry development accelerator program, works to deliver strategic mentoring for the creative arts, which has resulted in seven projects in active development for television, motion pictures, and web series, and licensed eleven songs to various television series, studios, and commercials nationally.

Your Committee finds that programs such as Creative Lab Hawaii will help to bring in more money to the State. The revenues from the existing projects of Creative Lab Hawaii are anticipated to generate $4,000,000 over the lifetime of the content and songs. Creative Lab Hawaii has produced forty-five programs that have reached one thousand five hundred entrepreneurs that are focused on investing in the media, music, and fashion design sectors. Your Committee recognizes the potential of these sectors to push Hawaii forward in the field of creative arts.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Updating language in the preamble to accurately reflect the accomplishments of Creative Lab Hawaii; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2558, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2558, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

GLENN WAKAI, Chair