STAND. COM. REP. NO. 827

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1361

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1361, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ALOHA TOWER DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Aloha Tower Development Corporation to undertake projects for Honolulu Harbor and adjacent lands that are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation.

 

     Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Hawaii Harbor Users Group, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences, and several individuals, all in support of this measure.

 

     Your Committee finds that the vast majority of goods and merchandise consumed by residents of this State come through our commercial harbors, particularly Honolulu Harbor, all of which are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, Harbors Division.  Honolulu Harbor is now in critical need of upgrading and expanding its facilities and infrastructure to continue to meet the growing demands of our expanding economy.  It is of vital importance that substantial improvements be undertaken at Honolulu Harbor; however, the Harbors Division is preoccupied with the essential daily management and operations of the statewide commercial harbor system.

 

     The Aloha Tower Development Corporation, a development-oriented entity with experience working in the Honolulu Harbor environ, is the ideal entity to assist the Harbors Division in undertaking development projects needed to upgrade and expand Honolulu Harbor.  This measure will allow the Aloha Tower Development Corporation to undertake projects at Honolulu Harbor, yet provides that:

 

     (1)  Authorization for funding and participation of the Aloha Tower Development Corporation in any project is subject to the approval of the Legislature on a project-by-project basis; and

 

     (2)  The Department of Transportation shall retain fiscal management responsibilities for any project undertaken by the Aloha Tower Development Corporation in Honolulu Harbor.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1361, S.D. 1 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair