THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

139

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING a STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF BIG BOX RETAILERS ON LOCAL SMALL AND MEDIUM RETAIL BUSINESSES.

 

WHEREAS, Oahu has experienced the establishment of several "big box" retailers in the past several years; and

WHEREAS, big box retailers typically sell in volume at discounted prices from warehouse type operations; and

WHEREAS, big box retailers do business in groceries, office supplies, sporting goods, home furnishings, toys, books and music, computers, electronics and hardware on Oahu and on some Neighbor Islands; and

WHEREAS, the economy of the State and the cost of living for Hawaii residents are impacted considerably by big box retailers; and

WHEREAS, anecdotal reports are that big box retailers have had an adverse economic impact on small and medium sized businesses that are locally owned, causing many of them to lose revenue and eventually close; and

WHEREAS, while these reports on the adverse economic impact big box retailers have on local businesses may be anecdotal, recent statistics on business closures and bankruptcy filings in Hawaii have grown significantly in the years since the influx of big box retailers; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature needs solid and reliable information regarding the full economic impact on the State from big box retailers, particularly the effects on small and medium sized businesses that are locally owned; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) is requested to conduct a study on the effects of big box retailers on local small and medium retail businesses, including but not limited to the:

(1) Number, types, and locations of big box retailers in Hawaii;

(2) Number of employees employed by each of the various big box retailers in each location;

(3) Amounts of excise, income withholding, and property tax revenues generated by big box retailers;

(4) Estimated number and types of small and medium locally owned retail businesses that are in competition with the big box retailers in any type of merchandise, and the estimated number of employees, and amounts of excise, income withholding, and property tax revenues generated by these retail businesses;

(5) Estimated number and types of small and medium locally owned retail businesses that have been closed or placed in bankruptcy attributable to adverse competition from big box retailers; and

(6) Comparative economic impact of big box retailers on Hawaii's economy;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Taxation, and the directors of finance of the various counties cooperate with LRB in providing information and data for purposes of this study subject to confidentiality requirements; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the LRB report findings and recommendations to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, Director of Taxation, Director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services of the City and County of Honolulu, Director of Finance of the County of Hawaii, Director of Finance of the County of Kauai, and the Director of Finance of the County of Maui.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Big Box Retailer Economic Impact Study