SB3337 SD1

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, in light of the State's ongoing recovery from the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the State must improve its economic coordination and focus its efforts to meet specific state goals in the areas of economic disaster mitigation, economic diversification, import substitution, and community development.

Accordingly, this Act is intended to help meet this need by establishing a policy matrix that will ensure economic success and meet the State's strategic economic diversification goals. The legislature finds that the implementation of this matrix will not require a significant additional investment in overhead resources but will require funds for specific programs that are identified collaboratively by the legislature and the department of business, economic development, and tourism. The implementation will also require the establishment of specific goals and reports to the legislature that assess the effectiveness of the projects in meeting those goals.

The legislature finds that through this Act, the department of business, economic development, and tourism will serve as a facilitative catalyst for the State, the counties, businesses, investors, labor organizations, and communities and will help to align the State with the emerging knowledge-based, zero‑emission, and digital global economy while putting Hawaii on the path toward economic prosperity. Finally, the legislature finds that this Act will serve as a model for the creation and implementation of future public policy frameworks for the State.

The purpose of this Act is to promote economic recovery and diversification by:

(1) Establishing state goals for economic disaster mitigation, economic diversification, import substitution, and community development;

(2) Appropriating moneys to the department of business, economic development, and tourism to implement specific projects that address those goals;

(3) Identifying additional projects authorized in the executive budget to be implemented by the department of business, economic development, and tourism that address those goals; and

(4) Requiring the department of business, economic development, and tourism to submit annual reports to the legislature that summarize:

(A) The progress of projects assigned to the department by this Act;

(B) The outcomes of the projects assigned to the department, including an assessment of each project's effectiveness in achieving state goals; and

SECTION 2. (a) The legislature declares that the projects for which funds are appropriated pursuant to section 3 of this Act or authorized in the Supplemental Appropriations Act or Supplemental Improvements Act as described in section 4 of this Act align with one or more of the following goals that address economic disaster mitigation, economic diversification, import substitution, and community development:

(1) Economic disaster mitigation: Projects shall address economic disaster mitigation by strengthening infrastructure to better serve the community's well‑being and by empowering community-based planning and development;

(2) Economic diversification through participation in the digital economy: Projects shall address economic diversification by strengthening Hawaii's participation in the digital economy, including:

(A) Strengthening broadband infrastructure and affordability;

(B) Increasing digital literacy;

(D) Strengthening business capacity and readiness to participate in the digital economy;

(3) Economic diversification through strengthened trade activities: Projects shall address economic diversification by strengthening traded activities that redistribute Hawaii's gross domestic product, including:

(A) Increasing the export of professional services;

(B) Increasing the export of creative intellectual property;

(D) Strengthening the attraction of film projects;

(4) Import substitution: Projects shall address import substitution by reducing the State's reliance on fossil fuels; and

(5) Community development: Projects shall address community development through the creation of affordable, livable, and desirable communities for Hawaii's residents.

(b) The department of business, economic development, and tourism shall implement the projects authorized or described in section 3 of this Act for the purpose of meeting the goals described in subsection (a); provided that the department may work with any other state or county agency for the implementation of the assigned projects.

(c) No later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular sessions of 2023, 2024, and 2025, the department of business, economic development, and tourism shall submit a report to the legislature that includes:

(1) A summary of the progress of the projects assigned to the department by this Act;

(2) The outcomes of the projects assigned to the department by this Act, including an assessment of each project's effectiveness in achieving the goals described in subsection (a); and

(3) Any findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $4,160,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for the following projects:

(1) For the purpose of economic disaster mitigation, as described in section 2(a)(1) of this Act: $500,000 for community-based economic development revitalization grants to provide funding for communities to hold economic development activities; and

(2) For the purpose of economic diversification, as described in section 2(a)(2) and 2(a)(3) of this Act:

(A) $1,000,000 for digital literacy training in partnership with state libraries and Hawaii Literacy;

(B) $500,000 for Instant Teams' phase 2 to increase remote work opportunities for Hawaii's residents;

(C) $300,000 for remote work website business resources build-out to strengthen business capacity to hire Hawaii's remote workforce;

(D) $1,310,000 to expand creative space studio at Entrepreneurs Sandbox;

(E) $50,000 for a film permitting digital system to streamline the permit process; and

(F) $500,000 for a cyber leaders programs to provide educational and technical cybersecurity assistance to local businesses to maintain compliance with cybersecurity requirements.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of business, economic development, and tourism for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. The appropriation made for projects authorized by section 3 of this Act shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal biennium for which the appropriation is made; provided that all moneys from the appropriation unencumbered as of June 30, 2024, shall lapse as of that date.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 to fund two full-time equivalent (2.0 FTE) positions at the Hawaii center for advanced transportation technologies; provided that should federal funds or funding from other private or public sources for these positions become available, the sum shall be decreased by the amount of the funds secured from other sources.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of business, economic development, and tourism for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3337
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII