H.B. 197 Summary

• Establishes the Hawaii Space Commission within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to promote innovation in space exploration and commercial aerospace industries.

• Creates a nine-member governing board composed of three members appointed by the governor, three by the state senate president, and three by the house speaker, with priority given to appointees with experience in commercial aerospace, civil aviation, military aerospace, space economic development, academic research, and nonprofit space support.

• Authorizes the commission to identify funding opportunities, support workforce training, make grants to eligible entities for space-related research and development, coordinate educational programs, and develop an annually updated strategic plan for space economic development.

• Establishes the Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Special Fund to provide grants for emerging technology development, space exploration research, workforce training, materials curation, and spaceport infrastructure development to eligible businesses, nonprofits, and governmental entities.

• Appropriates unspecified sums from general revenues for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 for commission operations and grant awards, effective July 1, 2025.