Bill Text: HI HCR89 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Labor And Industrial Relations And The Department Of Business, Economic Development, And Tourism To Convene A Basic Economic Security Working Group.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)

Status: (Passed) 2017-05-05 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HCR89 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-HCR89-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	89
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to Convene a basic economic security working group.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, while the United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, many families, individuals, and businesses in Hawaii have been struggling to keep pace with the increasing cost of living as economic inequality widens the gap between a few top earners and the middle and lower class, the latter of which has seen its overall share of income decline in recent decades; and

 

     WHEREAS, efforts to increase wages, benefits, and working conditions are important steps to assist local families in the short-term, but a paradigm shift in policy will soon be necessary as automation, innovation, and disruption begin to rapidly worsen economic inequality by displacing significant numbers of jobs in Hawaii's transportation, food service, tourism, retail, medical, legal, insurance, and other sectors; and

 

     WHEREAS, new companies have already begun to accelerate disruption, such as Airbnb, which has become the largest hotel company in the world despite not owning any hotels; and

 

     WHEREAS, self-driving autonomous vehicles are already operating on streets in the United States and will displace millions of taxi and delivery drivers; and

 

     WHEREAS, among human drivers, one accident occurs every sixty thousand miles; and

 

     WHEREAS, in comparison, autonomous vehicles will likely see only one accident every six million miles, a significant difference that could disrupt the insurance industry; and

 

     WHEREAS, self-checkout lines at retail stores are already rapidly expanding and replacing retail workers; and

 

     WHEREAS, International Business Machines Corporation's Watson computer can provide basic legal advice faster and with more accuracy than human attorneys and is helping to diagnose cancer four times more accurately than human nurses; and

 

     WHEREAS, numerous companies are building applications that turn smartphones into medical devices able to quickly analyze blood samples, breath, and retinas to identify medical conditions that will give millions of people access to instant, low-cost tools for medical analysis; and

 

     WHEREAS, three-dimensional printers have dropped in price from more than $15,000 to less than $500 in just ten years, making it increasingly easy for people to purchase products online and instantly print them at home; and

 

     WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of Hawaii jobs may be replaced in the near future due to innovation, automation, and disruption; and

 

     WHEREAS, to address rapidly growing income inequality and ensure economic survival in a post-automation economy, governments around the world are beginning to look at new options; and

 

     WHEREAS, the governments of Finland, Uganda, and the Canadian province of Ontario, along with private sector partners in Oakland, California and non-profit partners in Kenya, have begun pilot projects that explore providing different types of universal basic income; and

 

     WHEREAS, the concept of universal basic income is analogous to providing social security to every citizen at a level sufficient to cover their basic needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the availability of universal basic income would allow individuals seeking job retraining or working part-time to maintain a basic standard of living; and

 

     WHEREAS, universal basic income would also allow more people to share part time work between the fewer number of jobs that may be available, while lifting burdens on businesses, and providing a more secure and substantial safety net for all people, ending extreme financial poverty, and providing for a more financially sustainable and equitable future for all citizens in spite of coming economic disruption; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature declares that all families in Hawaii deserve basic financial security and that it is in the public interest to ensure economic sustainability for our people; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature finds that Hawaii's heavy reliance on a service-based economy makes it more susceptible to economic disruption and job loss than other states, and work must begin now to address the rapid automation, innovation, and globalization that already is beginning to displace significant numbers of local jobs, resulting in worsening income inequality; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism are requested to convene a basic economic security working group to address the potential for significant economic disruption and ensure the economic sustainability of Hawaii's individuals and families in light of future automation, innovation, and disruption; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism are encouraged to include in the basic economic security working group:

 

     (1)  The chairperson of the Senate standing committee with primary jurisdiction over labor, as well as other interested senators;

 

     (2)  The chairperson of the House of Representatives standing committee with primary jurisdiction over labor, as well as other interested representatives;

 

     (3)  The Director of Human Services;

 

     (4)  The Executive Director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization;

 

     (5)  Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, and other representatives of the business community as determined by the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism;

 

     (6)  Representatives of the labor industry as determined by Hawaii State AFL-CIO; and

 

     (7)  Other experts with relevant knowledge; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the basic economic security working group shall be co-chaired by the Director of the Labor and Industrial Relations and the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, or each director's respective designees; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the basic economic security working group shall:

 

     (1)  Assess Hawaii's job market exposure to automation technologies, globalization, and disruptive innovation;

 

     (2)  Assess Hawaii's existing spending on social safety net programs and other relevant expenditures, as well as expected spending on those programs in light of anticipated automation technologies, globalization, disruptive innovation, and job losses;

 

     (3)  Identify and analyze options to ensure economic security, including a partial universal basic income, full universal basic income, and other mechanisms;

 

     (4)  Monitor studies, trials, and efforts in Hawaii and other jurisdictions relevant to the basic economic security working group; and

 

     (5)  Seek out partnerships to publish or fund relevant trials or studies to evaluate options; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to 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 each Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations; the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; the Director of Human Services; the Executive Director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization; the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; and the President of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Economic Sustainability; Basic Economic Security Working Group; Universal Basic Income