Lingle signs three innovation initiative bills
Gov. Linda Lingle has signed three bills from the Hawaii Innovation Initiative, in which she hopes to make the state economy more reliant on the ideas of residents than on the development of land.
The measures signed Thursday include supporting private investment in a life sciences incubator, expanding the state's aerospace industry, and implementing methods to track progress toward an innovation economy.
"These bills will provide critical support to businesses and the local economy as we work together to develop new and innovative ways to increase Hawaii's capacity to compete in the global economy," Lingle said in a statement.
The new laws:
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Senate Bill 896 appropriates $400,000 to lease lab and office space for a life sciences incubator. It will contain, Lingle said, the first-ever private Class A wet lab in the state that will serve as a life sciences research center and catalyst facility for commercialization of biotech research. The state-sponsored High Technology Development Corp. will lease space in a life sciences complex to be built in Kakaako.
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Senate Bill 907 revives the Hawaii Office of Space Industry as the Hawaii Office of Aerospace Development and gives it $500,000 to promote aerospace businesses industries in Hawaii.
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Senate Bill 709 establishes a means to measure efforts to innovate and diversify the state economy. It requires the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism to measure growth in ocean and sciences technology, biotechnology and life sciences, astronomy, technology and information services, film and creative media, diversified agriculture, aquaculture, and specialty tourism, and provides funding for two full-time economists to do this.
The three bills take effect July 1.
Last week the governor signed Senate Bill 885, to set up career and technical programs in engineering, computing and robotics as well as environmental and spatial technology, and funds a Kauai Community College pilot program to improve science, technology, engineering and math education.