Hawaii-2010-SR61-Introduced

WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 76, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, 2009, established a Task Force on Reinventing Government (Task Force) to examine the existing operations and organizations of Hawaii's state government and recommend ways to make Hawaii's government more efficient; and

WHEREAS, the Task Force was formed in October 2009 and gathered together a varied group of government leaders, state agency and department heads, community leaders, nonprofit organization leaders, and business executives from around the State; and

WHEREAS, in light of the financial strain that Hawaii faces due to the world economic downturn and resulting decline in tax revenue, the group was tasked with examining opportunities to reevaluate and restructure state government operations and organizations to do more with fewer resources in order to weather current economic crises and prepare for future challenges; and

WHEREAS, at its final meeting on January 4, 2010, the Task Force adopted a number of recommendations, including recommendations to improve government efficiency in the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT); and

WHEREAS, the Task Force recommended that the mission of DBEDT be better defined and prioritized to function as a facilitator and clearinghouse and to offer strategic directions for business development; and

WHEREAS, DBEDT presently serves as a "catch-all" agency that takes in functions not covered by other state agencies, including the Foreign Trade Zone, Aloha Tower Development Corporation, Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Center of Excellence for Ocean Science, and the Land Use Commission, among others; and

WHEREAS, as a result of this lack of focus, DBEDT is unable to make a significant difference in the areas that it serves, and despite the best efforts of staff, the agency is doomed to ineffectiveness and inefficiency due to the lack of policy direction regarding its true mission and purpose; and

WHEREAS, DBEDT would best serve its constituent groups as a resource for business development and as a clearinghouse for other entities, such as the respective Economic Development Boards on each island; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, that there is established a joint government and private sector task force to study and assess how the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism may be restructured and its mission redirected to change the focus from a "hands-on" agency to a "facilitative" agency that serves as a clearinghouse for other entities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include, but not be limited to:

(1) An assessment of existing private resources, such as the Economic Development Boards on each island, among others, which could be used to facilitate economic development;

(2) Cost savings that may be achieved through organizational and program restructuring;

(3) Legislative measures that would be required to effectuate DBEDT's organizational and program restructuring; and

(4) Any other information that may be applicable; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force shall include representatives of DBEDT, the four county Economic Development Boards, Hawaii Business Roundtable, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, and other members as may be appropriate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; the Directors of Enterprise Honolulu and the Economic Development Boards of Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii; the Executive Director of the Hawaii Business Roundtable, the President and CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Task Force on Reinventing Government; DBEDT

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	61
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII