§225M-2 - Office of planning, establishment; responsibilities.

§225M-2 Office of planning, establishment;
responsibilities. (a) There is established within the department of
business, economic development, and tourism an office of planning. The head of
the office shall be known as the director of the office of planning, referred
to in this chapter as director. The director shall have: training in the field
of urban or regional planning, public administration, or other related fields;
experience in programs or services related to governmental planning; and experience
in a supervisory, consultative, or administrative capacity. The director shall
be nominated by the governor and, by and with the advice and consent of the
senate, appointed by the governor without regard to chapter 76, and shall be
compensated at a salary level set by the governor. The director shall be
included in any benefit program generally applicable to the officers and
employees of the State. The director shall retain such staff as may be
necessary for the purposes of this chapter, in conformity with chapter 76. The
director shall report to the director of business, economic development, and
tourism and shall not be required to report directly to any other principal
executive department.

(b) The office of planning shall gather,
analyze, and provide information to the governor to assist in the overall
analysis and formulation of state policies and strategies to provide central
direction and cohesion in the allocation of resources and effectuation of state
activities and programs and effectively address current or emerging issues and
opportunities. More specifically, the office shall engage in the following
activities:

(1) State comprehensive planning and program
coordination. Formulating and articulating comprehensive statewide goals,
objectives, policies, and priorities, and coordinating their implementation
through the statewide planning system established in part II of chapter 226;

(2) Strategic planning. Identifying and analyzing
significant issues, problems, and opportunities confronting the State, and
formulating strategies and alternative courses of action in response to
identified problems and opportunities by:

(A) Providing in-depth policy research,
analysis, and recommendations on existing or potential areas of critical state
concern;

(B) Examining and evaluating the effectiveness
of state programs in implementing state policies and priorities;

(C) Monitoring through surveys, environmental
scanning, and other techniques--current social, economic, and physical
conditions and trends; and

(D) Developing, in collaboration with affected
public or private agencies and organizations, implementation plans and
schedules and, where appropriate, assisting in the mobilization of resources to
meet identified needs;

(3) Planning coordination and cooperation.
Facilitating coordinated and cooperative planning and policy development and
implementation activities among state agencies and between the state, county,
and federal governments, by:

(A) Reviewing, assessing, and coordinating, as
necessary, major plans, programs, projects, and regulatory activities existing
or proposed by state and county agencies;

(B) Formulating mechanisms to simplify,
streamline, or coordinate interagency development and regulatory processes; and

(C) Recognizing the presence of federal
defense and security forces and agencies in the State as important state
concerns;

(4) Statewide planning and geographic information
system. Collecting, integrating, analyzing, maintaining, and disseminating
various forms of data and information, including geospatial data and
information, to further effective state planning, policy analysis and
development, and delivery of government services by:

(A) Collecting, assembling, organizing,
evaluating, and classifying existing geospatial and non-geospatial data and
performing necessary basic research, conversions, and integration to provide a
common database for governmental planning and geospatial analyses by state
agencies;

(B) Planning, coordinating, and maintaining a
comprehensive, shared statewide planning and geographic information system and
associated geospatial database. The office shall be the lead agency
responsible for coordinating the maintenance of the multi-agency, statewide
planning and geographic information system and coordinating, collecting,
integrating, and disseminating geospatial data sets that are used to support a
variety of state agency applications and other spatial data analyses to enhance
decision making. The office shall promote and encourage free and open data
sharing among and between all government agencies. To ensure the maintenance
of a comprehensive, accurate, up-to-date geospatial data resource that can be
drawn upon for decision making related to essential public policy issues such
as land use planning, resource management, homeland security, and the overall
health, safety, and well-being of Hawaii's citizens, and to avoid redundant
data development efforts, state agencies shall provide to the shared system
either their respective geospatial databases or, at a minimum, especially in
cases of secure or confidential data sets that cannot be shared or must be
restricted, metadata describing existing geospatial data. In cases where
agencies provide restricted data, the office of planning shall ensure the
security of that data; and

(5) Land use planning. Developing and presenting the
position of the State in all boundary change petitions and proceedings before
the land use commission, assisting state agencies in the development and
submittal of petitions for land use district boundary amendments, and
conducting periodic reviews of the classification and districting of all lands
in the State, as specified in chapter 205;

(6) Coastal and ocean policy management. Carrying
out the lead agency responsibilities for the Hawaii coastal zone management
program, as specified in chapter 205A. Also, developing and maintaining an
ocean and coastal resources information, planning, and management system
further developing and coordinating implementation of the ocean resources
management plan, and formulating ocean policies with respect to the exclusive
economic zone, coral reefs, and national marine sanctuaries;

(7) Regional planning and studies. Conducting plans
and studies to determine:

(A) The capability of various regions within
the State to support projected increases in both resident populations and
visitors;

(B) The potential physical, social, economic,
and environmental impact on these regions resulting from increases in both
resident populations and visitors;

(D) The appropriate guidance and management of
selected regions and areas of statewide critical concern.

The studies in subparagraphs (A) to (C) shall be
conducted at appropriate intervals, but not less than once every five years;
and

(8) Regional, national, and international planning.
Participating in and ensuring that state plans, policies, and objectives are
consistent, to the extent practicable, with regional, national, and
international planning efforts. [L 1987, c 336, pt of §1; am L 1988, c 352, §5;
am L 1990, c 160, §3; am L 1996, c 299, §1; am L 2000, c 253, §150; am L Sp
2005, c 12, §3; am L 2006, c 65, §2; am L Sp 2007, c 4, §3]