HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	984
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to SCIENCE AND technology.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that innovation is an essential driver of economic growth and future competitiveness.  A thriving innovation economy promotes economic growth, fosters new technologies, creates jobs, and keeps the United States leading the global marketplace.  States across the nation and the Obama administration have committed to renewing the country's focus on innovation as a means of fostering economic growth and creating high-wage jobs throughout the nation.

     In Hawaii, the president of the University of Hawaii system recently unveiled recommendations of a draft report authored by the Advisory Council on Hawaii Innovation and Technology Advancement on how the University of Hawaii can build private sector high-wage jobs and partnerships.  Report recommendations included identifying research as an industry in Hawaii; establishing the Hawaii Innovation Technology Exchange Institute (HiTEx); encouraging collaboration by integrating entrepreneurship into the university's curriculum; and identifying security and sustainability:  energy and agriculture, data analytics, and Asian-Pacific health as key areas for capitalizing on commercialization opportunities for Hawaii.

     In addition, in 2010, the senate committee on economic development and technology and the house committee on economic revitalization, business, and military affairs convened an informal small business discussion group to address the most critical issues facing the small business sectors within Hawaii's economy.  Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, construction and trades industries, community nonprofits, the agricultural sector, food and restaurant industries, retailing, the science and technology sector, the commercial transportation industry, and interested stakeholders developed a package of bills that address the most pressing problems facing Hawaii's small business community.

     The purpose of this Act is to support the findings of the small business working group and the recommendations proposed by the Advisory Council on Hawaii Innovation and Technology Advancement regarding regulatory requirements faced by businesses engaged in biotechnology research, by establishing a task force to:

     (1)  Identify barriers that Hawaii businesses and university professors face in developing entrepreneurial business models in biotechnology; and

     (2)  Recommend specific actions to address these barriers.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established a biotechnology task force within the University of Hawaii for administrative purposes only.  The task force shall assess barriers faced by businesses engaged in biotechnology research or other activities, and develop recommendations and any legislation required to expedite permit processing for the specialized needs of biotechnology businesses, including importation of organisms or other items that are typically classified as invasive species or hazardous in some manner.

     (b)  The task force shall consist of representatives from the:

     (1)  University of Hawaii system, including the college of tropical agriculture and human resources, John A. Burns school of medicine, and department of oceanography;

     (2)  Department of agriculture;

     (3)  Department of land and natural resources;

     (4)  Department of health;

     (5)  Hawaii Science and Technology Council; and

     (6)  Biotechnology industry businesses, including agricultural biotechnology, life sciences/biotechnology, and bioenergy.

     The representative from the University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources shall serve as chair of the task force.

     (c)  The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the legislature, including recommendations for legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2012.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Biotechnology; Task Force

 

Description:

Establishes a task force to identify barriers that Hawaii businesses and university professors face in developing entrepreneurial business models in biotechnology, and to recommend specific actions to address these barriers; requires report to the 2012 legislature.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.