STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2444

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2693

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation and Economic Development and Tourism, to which was referred S.B. No. 2693 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR AEROSPACE INFRASTRUCTURE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the issuance of $15 million in general obligation bonds to finance the planning, design, and construction of a fifty thousand square foot aerospace hangar and related facilities at Hilo International Airport;

(2) Require matching contributions from the federal government and private sector;

(3) Direct the funds appropriated to be expended by the Department of Transportation; and

(4) Require a report to the Legislature.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Technology Development Corporation; Fenix Space, Inc.; Pacific Impact Zone; Hawaii Spaceflight Laboratory; and ten individuals.

Your Committees find that technology-based economic development, including the development of aerospace infrastructure, is a critical component of the State's innovation ecosystem. The development of aerospace infrastructure can generate positive ripple effects across related industries that will support diversification of the State's economy. This measure will facilitate the construction of an aerospace hangar at Hilo International Airport to attract new ventures, support existing companies, and create high-wage employment opportunities strategically clustered in a concentrated geographic area.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Economic Development and Tourism that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2693, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2693, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Economic Development and Tourism,

________________________________ LYNN DECOITE, Chair

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair