Aloha,

In our efforts to work towards a New Day, Governor Abercrombie has asked me, as your Lieutenant Governor, to take the lead on some important initiatives – programs that will make a difference to our State, to our communities and to each of us.

One such program is the Fair Share Initiative.

The Fair Share Initiative is based on a simple idea. In these challenging times, we need to pull together and aggressively pursue funding outside of Hawai‘i to bolster our economic prosperity. So we’ve put together an action-oriented team to support important projects in renewable energy, workforce training, military construction and small business development to ensure that they get the financial assistance they need in order to succeed.

The progress we’ve already made is promising. Through this initiative, we are seeing government agencies and organizations strategically collaborate to find important opportunities to bring in new money.

So what does this all mean, as a practical matter? We stand to get more than $90 million dollars in needed repairs for our National Guard facilities. We are working closely with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations on training initiatives to ensure that our workforce is prepared for the green jobs of the future. And we’re working hard to get needed federal support for small businesses.

The Fair Share Initiative is an example of what we can do when we become more creative and nimble and work together closely.

This is part of the New Day plan to effectively use existing resources to ensure that Hawai‘i succeeds.

I am excited about this program and will continue to check in with you in the coming weeks and months about its progress. In the meantime, please feel free to learn more about the Fair Share Initiative (FSI) by contacting Lynn Heirakuji, FSI director, and Jacce Mikulanec, FSI deputy. Or visit us on the web at www.hawaii.gov/fsi.

Mahalo,

Brian Schatz

brian.schatz@hawaii.gov

www.hawaii.gov/ltgov

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