HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

214

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING the EstablishMENT OF a task force to STUDY AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ReGARDING THE CREATION of a crowdfunding program.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that capital improvement projects in need of completion sometime take years to be funded through the standard lawmaking process; and

 

     WHEREAS, in recent years, many people across the country have utilized crowdfunding websites to fund public projects and improve their communities; and

 

     WHEREAS, users of such websites willingly and directly donate their own funds toward projects they wish to support, thus instilling a sense of community pride; and

 

     WHEREAS, allowing members of the public to help fund certain types of capital improvement projects using this method would enable such projects to be completed in a more timely manner; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Accounting and General Services is requested to establish a Task Force to consider and make recommendations regarding the creation of a crowdfunding program, to be administered by the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, more specifically, the Task Force is requested to consider and make recommendations regarding:

 

(1)  The creation of a crowdfunding website, to be operated by the State, that allows members of the public to donate their own money directly toward the funding of state capital improvement projects;

 

(2)  The types of projects that should be included and excluded from the website;

 

(3)  The appropriate method for including or excluding projects from the website;

 

(4)  The best methods for the registration of participants on the website;

 

(5)  The appropriate mechanisms by which participants may place bids, pledge funds, and submit funds toward their desired projects;

 

(6)  The appropriate methods of funding administrative costs of the crowdfunding program;

 

(7)  The implementation of a mechanism for members of the public to monitor the progress of funded programs toward completion;

 

(8)  The need for the program to comply with relevant, existing federal statutes and regulations, including but not limited to securities laws; and

 

     (9)  Any other relevant factors.

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force Membership is requested to include at least the following:

 

     (1)  The Comptroller or the Comptroller's designee;

 

     (2)  The Director of Finance or the director’s designee;

 

     (3)  The Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, or the director’s designee;

 

     (4)  The Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee;

 

     (5)  The Senate President or a Senator designated by the Senate President;

 

     (6)  The Speaker of the House of Representatives or a member of the House of Representatives designated by the Speaker; and

 

     (7)  The State's Chief Information Officer.

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Accounting and General Services is requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014, containing the recommendations of the Task Force, including any proposed legislation; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to be dissolved on June 30, 2014; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Comptroller, the Director of Finance, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Attorney General, and the Chief Information Officer.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

Report Title: 

Crowdfunding; Funding of Projects; Task Force