STAND. COM. REP. NO.691

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 560

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 560, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to the University of Hawaii to support existing programs and expand services at the Small Business Development Center.

This measure also requires the Small Business Development Center to report to the 2004 Regular Session of the Legislature on the services it provides to small businesses in Hawaii, increases in the volume of business revenue generated and categories of businesses served, and any other information relevant to assessing the performance of the Center.

Your Committee finds that the Small Business Development Center, which is a statewide program in its thirteenth year of operation, matches state dollars to federal dollars. As a partnership program between the University of Hawaii at Hilo and the United States Small Business Administration, the Center program leverages the resources of both to enhance the delivery of its services to the small business community.

Your Committee further finds that small businesses in Hawaii comprise ninety-seven per cent of businesses in the State and are the major contributors to the economy, generators of new jobs, and innovators in the State's leading industries. Your Committee finds that the Center's programs provide a significant return on investment for the State by assisting numerous individuals in starting, sustaining, and developing their small businesses.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Replacing the sums appropriated with blank amounts in order to facilitate further discussion on the funding necessary to carry out the purposes of this measure; and

(2) Making technical nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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. 560, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 560, S.D. 2.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair