CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 97

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2015

 

RE:    S.B. No. 661

       S.D. 2

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam and Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 661, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS TEST SITES,"

 

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

 

     The purpose of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Establish the Hawaii unmanned aerial systems test site Chief Operating Officer position to, among other things, serve on the Pan-Pacific Unmanned Aerial Systems Test Range Complex management team;

 

     (2)  Establish an advisory board to oversee and manage unmanned aerial systems test site operations; and

 

     (3)  Appropriate funds to staff and operate Hawaii's unmanned aerial systems test site activities.

 

     Your Committee on Conference finds that unmanned aerial systems are an emerging technology with significant capability for commercial and national security applications.  The integration of unmanned aerial systems into the national air space will generate a technological asset that is estimated to be worth more than $13,600,000,000 during the first three years of integration and more than $82,000,000,000 during the next ten years, and create approximately 103,776 new jobs by 2025.  Implementation of this measure will provide Hawaii, a member of the Pan-Pacific Aerial Systems Test Range Complex, with an opportunity to support the development of technology that can have a substantial positive impact on the State's economy.

 

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting the purpose section of the S.D. 2 version;

 

     (2)  Requiring the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to hire, rather than establishing within the Department, a Hawaii unmanned aerial systems test site Chief Operating Officer;

 

     (3)  Deleting language that requires the chief operating officer to be subject to chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

     (4)  Clarifying that the Chief Operating Officer may employ one administrative assistant, rather than one administrative assistant on a full-time basis;

 

     (5)  Inserting an appropriation amount of $150,000 for fiscal year 2015-2016 for the purpose of staffing and operating Hawaii's unmanned aerial systems test site activities;

 

     (6)  Deleting language appropriating funds for fiscal year 2016-2017;

 

     (7)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2015; and

 

     (8)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 661, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 661, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

 

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

 

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

 

____________________________

DEREK S.K. KAWAKAMI, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair

____________________________

AARON LING JOHANSON, Co-Chair

 

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 

 

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Co-Chair