STAND. COM. REP. NO. 578

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1443

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 1443 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit a company from receiving a grant in consecutive years under the manufacturing development program.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation.

Your Committee finds that the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation's manufacturing assistance program (MAP) grant offers Hawaii-based manufacturers up to a twenty percent reimbursement, capped at $100,000, on qualified expenses to help Hawaii manufacturers become globally competitive. Qualifying expenses include equipment purchases, training, energy efficiency projects, and manufacturing feasibility studies. Your Committee further finds that such assistance should impact as many companies as possible, therefore limiting a company from receiving MAP grants in consecutive years will enable more companies to benefit from the MAP grant.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1443 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Technology,

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair