THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              6
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  RESOLUTION

  URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND
    TOURISM TO CREATE A BRANCH WITHIN THE RESEARCH AND
    ECONOMIC ANALYSIS DIVISION DEVOTED TO RESEARCH AND
    PROMOTION EFFORTS IN SUPPORT OF HAWAII'S CONSTRUCTION
    INDUSTRY. 


 1        WHEREAS, at its peak in the early 1990s, construction
 2   represented a $5,000,000,000 industry in 1997 dollars for the
 3   State; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, despite declines in recent years, the
 6   construction industry continues to represent a sizable
 7   component in Hawaii's economy; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, in 1997, total receipts for public and private
10   construction were $2,864,900,000, and building permits for
11   private construction rose 4.7 percent after several years of
12   declining permit numbers; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, total contracting receipts are expected to rise
15   slightly to $2,900,000,000 for 1998; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, the Bank of Hawaii's 1998 annual report on
18   construction in Hawaii forecasts that construction will rise
19   more quickly in 1999 -- to $3,140,000,000, remaining in the
20   $3,000,000,000 range in the near future; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, while overall government construction contracts
23   fell 12.7 percent in 1997, they are expected to show a
24   substantial increase for 1998; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, a continuing surge in federal government
27   construction brought that component of the government total to
28   a record high of $329,200,000 -- up 14.2 percent from the
29   previous year -- as a result of a substantial increase in
30   military facilities and military housing construction; and
31   
32        WHEREAS, the importance of the construction industry to
33   the economy of Hawaii is not widely acknowledged; and

 
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                                  S.R. NO.              6
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   
 2        WHEREAS, statewide construction activities would benefit
 3   from increased research and promotional efforts in support of
 4   this vital industry; now, therefore,
 5   
 6        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 7   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, that the
 8   Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is
 9   urged to create a branch within the research and economic
10   analysis division devoted to research and promotion efforts in
11   support of Hawaii's construction industry; and
12   
13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of the Department
14   of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to
15   report research findings and promotional activities in support
16   of Hawaii's construction industry to the Legislature twenty
17   days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and
18   
19        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this
20   Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Department of
21   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.
22 
23 
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25                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________