Bill Text: HI HB9 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Economic Diversification.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-01-27 - Referred to ECD, FIN, referral sheet 1 [HB9 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-HB9-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
9 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The
legislature finds that the virus known as SARS-CoV-2 causes a disease named coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19), which spread globally and was declared a pandemic by
the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Upon reaching Hawaii's shores, the COVID-19
outbreak disrupted the local economy, leaving hundreds of thousands of
residents unemployed, underemployed, or facing financial hardship. Low-wage workers were disproportionately
harmed by Hawaii's economic downturn, which worsened their financial precarity
and left thousands of working families unable to pay for food, housing,
electricity, and other necessities.
The
legislature further finds that at the peak of Hawaii's economic downturn, the
State experienced levels of unemployment not seen since the Great Depression. For example, the unemployment rate for the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina
metropolitan area skyrocketed to thirty-five per cent in April 2020, nearly ten
per cent higher than the national unemployment rate at the peak of the Great
Depression and the highest of any metropolitan area in the United States at the
time, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The legislature additionally finds that
Hawaii's high pandemic-related unemployment rate is largely a result of the
State's dependence on tourism to drive economic growth. Roughly twenty-five per cent of jobs in Hawaii
are connected to tourism, according to the University of Hawaii Economic
Research Organization. As the number of
airline passengers dwindled from approximately thirty thousand per day in 2019
to a few hundred in the spring of 2020 because of public health concerns and
quarantine restrictions on visitors, job losses in the tourism industry
accelerated, while tax revenue derived from tourism-related economic activity
plummeted, resulting in an estimated $2,000,000,000 budget shortfall as of
August 2020.
The legislature also finds that it is in
the best interest of Hawaii's people to ensure economic stability at all times,
including during times of crisis. Yet, in
May of 2020, the state chief economist estimated that the tourism industry
would not recover to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity for at least five
to six years. Therefore, to guarantee the
financial well-being of Hawaii's residents and the continuation of essential government
services, it is necessary to replace the islands' prolonged dependence on
tourism with sustainable alternatives to generate fiscal prosperity.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a
Hawaii 2030 economic diversification task force and a Hawaii 2030 economic
diversification plan to advance the State's goal of creating a sustainable and
stable economy for Hawaii's people.
SECTION 2. (a)
There is established a Hawaii economic
diversification task force to develop a plan to diversify the State's economy
by the year 2030. The task force shall
consist of the following members:
(1) A
member from the senate, to be appointed by the senate president;
(2) A
member from the house of representatives, to be appointed by the speaker of the
house of representatives;
(3) A
representative of the governor, to be appointed by the governor;
(4) The
director of business, economic development, and tourism or the director's
designee;
(5) The
director of health or the director's designee;
(6) The
chairperson of the board of agriculture or the chairperson's designee;
(7) The
chairperson of the board of land and natural resources or the chairperson's
designee;
(8) The
superintendent of education or the superintendent's designee;
(9) The
chief energy officer of the State of Hawaii or the chief energy officer's
designee;
(10) The
State auditor or the auditor's designee;
(11) The
director of the office of planning or the director's designee;
(12) The
chief executive officer of the office of Hawaiian affairs, or the chief
executive officer's designee;
(13) The
executive director of the Hawaii technology development corporation or the
executive director's designee;
(14) A
member from each county, to be appointed by the mayor of each respective county;
(15) Three
representatives from labor unions, to be appointed by the governor;
(16) A
representative from a nonprofit, public interest organization specializing in
advocacy for environmental and conservation issues;
(17) A
representative from a nonprofit, public interest organization specializing in advocacy
for children;
(18) A
representative from a nonprofit, interfaith organization in Hawaii;
(19) A
representative from a nonprofit, public interest organization that advocates on
behalf of low-income individuals and families in Hawaii on civil legal issues
of statewide importance; and
(20) A
representative from a nonprofit, public interest organization that advocates on
behalf of issues relating to sustainable agriculture and food security.
(b) The
task force shall select its chairperson from among its members.
(c) The members of the task force shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.
(d) The task force shall review, solicit input on,
and establish the Hawaii 2030 economic diversification plan, which shall serve
as a guide to the State on methods and policies for the diversification of Hawaii's
economy. In establishing the Hawaii 2030
economic diversification plan, the task force shall consider:
(1) Possibilities
for diversifying Hawaii's economy to minimize the adverse fiscal impact of
disruptions in the tourism industry, including investments in clean energy,
sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation and restoration, public
health, technological innovation, and film production;
(2) Strategies
for reallocating public and private sector funding from tourism to other areas of
economic opportunity;
(3) Means
of expanding access to educational and vocational training necessary to enable Hawaii's
workforce to meet the demands of economic diversification;
(4) Development
of a framework to ensure that the diversification of Hawaii's economy supports
other State goals and initiatives, including the goals of becoming 100 per cent
reliant on renewable energy and increasing statewide food security;
(5) Means
to increase community engagement in a public discussion to achieve a consensus on
the State's preferred future; and
(6) Means
to coordinate actions needed to sustain a diversified and sustainable economy
that provides a high quality of life to the people of Hawaii.
(e) The
task force may develop criteria or benchmarks as necessary to assist in the
development of measuring incremental compliance with task force recommendations
enacted into law or adopted as policies by governmental agencies and in guiding
budgetary priorities.
(f) The
task force may participate in and collaborate with any other task force for
purposes of this Act.
(g) The
task force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including
any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to
the convening of the regular session of 2023. The report shall be designated as the Hawaii
2030 economic diversification plan, which shall serve as a guideline for
funding and implementation by state and county agencies.
(h) The
auditor, with the assistance of the office of planning, shall review the plan
every ten years after its initial submission and report to the legislature.
(i) The
task force shall cease to exist on June 30, 2023.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Hawaii 2030 Economic Diversification Task Force; Establishment; Hawaii 2030 Economic Diversification Plan
Description:
Establishes the Hawaii 2030 economic diversification task force to develop a plan to diversify the State's economy by 2030. Requires the task force and the auditor to submit reports to the legislature.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
