PRINTER'S NO. 2212
No. 380 Session of 2006
INTRODUCED BY C. WILLIAMS, BOSCOLA, ERICKSON, FERLO, BRIGHTBILL,
FONTANA, CONTI, WENGER, PIPPY, LEMMOND AND WASHINGTON,
OCTOBER 23, 2006
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, OCTOBER 23, 2006
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating November 15, 2006, as "Pennsylvania GIS Day" in
2 Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Pennsylvanians recognize the vital role of
4 technology in the future growth of this Commonwealth; and
5 WHEREAS, The geospatial technology industry is an information
6 technology field that uses geographic information systems (GIS),
7 global positioning systems (GPS) and digital mapping to analyze
8 information about the location and spatial context of people,
9 places and things; and
10 WHEREAS, Geospatial technologies are essential tools in
11 government at all levels to assist effective decision making and
12 efficient service delivery in public safety, emergency response,
13 epidemiology, flood mapping and control, economic development,
14 education, workforce analysis, public health, transportation,
15 agriculture, environmental protection, law enforcement, land-use
16 planning, historical preservation and many other critical tasks
17 of government; and
1 WHEREAS, GIS applications are widely used in private industry
2 in medicine, real estate, insurance and risk management,
3 forestry, ground and air transportation, logistics,
4 telecommunications, meteorology, package shipping and delivery,
5 travel and tourism, advertising, oil and natural gas exploration
6 and extraction, landscape architecture, agriculture, mining and
7 other fields; and
8 WHEREAS, The United States Department of Labor has identified
9 geospatial technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology as the
10 three technologies with the greatest potential for growth and
11 job creation; and
12 WHEREAS, Employment in the geospatial technology industry is
13 growing by 10% to 13% per year, and demand for geospatial
14 technology services is creating new jobs in a wide range of
15 occupational fields; and
16 WHEREAS, Eighty-seven percent of geospatial product and
17 service providers nationwide report that they have difficulty
18 filling positions requiring geospatial technology skills; and
19 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is a leader in research and training in
20 geospatial technology and possesses many of the nation's leading
21 geospatial technology firms; and
22 WHEREAS, An investment today in our geospatial infrastructure
23 by government, private industry and academia will keep this
24 Commonwealth in the forefront of the geospatial technology
25 industry of tomorrow; therefore be it
26 RESOLVED, That the Senate, in recognition of "National
27 Geography Awareness Week," November 12 through 18, 2006,
28 designate November 15, 2006, as "Pennsylvania GIS Day" in
29 Pennsylvania.
J19L82AJM/20060S0380R2212 - 2 -