Bill Text: HI SB2742 | 2014 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 2742 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Pacific-Asia Institute for Resilience and Sustainability

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-07-08 - Act 229, 7/7/2014 (Gov. Msg. No. 1339). [SB2742 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-SB2742-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2742
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1
		C.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PACIFIC-ASIA INSTITUTE FOR RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY.

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

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the establishment of a revolutionary and innovative public and private partnership to be known as the Pacific-Asia institute for resilience and sustainability. The institute is envisioned to provide an opportunity for a new generation of leaders to emerge who have the ability to learn from emerging trends and to meet global challenges. The institute's multi-disciplinary and multi-sector approach to community resilience addresses a blind spot in the global discourse of how nations and the people in each nation respond to a wave of disruptive change that permeates throughout the world.

SECTION 2. The purpose of the Pacific-Asia institute for resilience and sustainability is to develop the next generation of leaders to address the world's most difficult problems, including climate change, environmental degradation, public health, sustainable use of natural resources, critical infrastructure protection, and cyber resilience.

The institute may have an interdisciplinary and educational function that integrates science, social transformation, and leadership into a coherent regional framework to achieve community resilience. The institute may focus on organizing all academic disciplines, including physical sciences, social sciences, and applied sciences to address future needs. The institute may address the physical, social, and economic risks and vulnerabilities of the Pacific-Asia region that may have a global impact; provided that the institute may address other issues as it deems appropriate or necessary.

SECTION 3. (a) Upon the establishment of the Pacific-Asia institute for resilience and sustainability, the office of the lieutenant governor shall act as the State's liaison, assisting the institute to:

(1) Form partnerships with various entities from the public, private, and non-military sectors, including but not limited to international governmental and nongovernmental organizations, businesses, universities, research institutes, and foundations; and

(2) Facilitate three core initiatives, as follows:

(A) Sustainability and the environment, including issues concerning energy, water, food security, and climate change adaptation;

(B) Global leadership and capacity building, including international leadership, disaster risk reduction, and public health systems; and

(C) Critical community continuity, including cyber security, information assurance, security technology business and policy, and all levels of security awareness.

(b) The institute may engage in the following activities to facilitate the achievement of the three core initiatives, using a multi-sector integration approach, as follows:

(1) Establishment of a named fellowship program for resilience and sustainability that provides a graduate-level course study for accomplished mid- and senior-level professionals from Hawaii and the Pacific-Asia region;

(2) Establishment of an interdisciplinary executive master's degree program to exemplify an approach that is inclusive of all of society to address the three core initiatives; and

(3) Formation of innovative hubs to provide a platform for applied research and analysis, consensus building, and problem solving on a wide variety of issues as may be identified from time to time by the institute. The hubs shall be established throughout the Pacific-Asia region. The hubs shall promote the integration of diverse expertise, research, and the development of innovative projects to solve verifiable problems of each country in the Pacific-Asia region.

(c) The institute may pursue funding from the public and private sectors, nongovernmental organizations, and research institutes. The institute shall be eligible for grants and subsidies under chapter 42F, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Pacific-Asia Institute for Resilience and Sustainability

Description:

Establishes the Pacific-Asia institute for resilience and sustainability to provide the structure and opportunity for a new generation of leaders to emerge who possess the ability to address Hawaii and the Pacific-Asia region's risks from natural and man-made hazards and to develop solutions for sustainable economic growth within the region's unique physical and cultural diversity. (CD1)

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