SB1228 CD1

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1228
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1
		C.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO HISTORICAL PRESERVATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the story of Hawaii's World War II Japanese internees has remained largely unknown for many years. The passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and the subsequent search for former internees has led to an increased awareness of how Hawaii's internees fared, and the knowledge that many of the former internment camps have disappeared or will in the near future.

The legislature further finds that in January 2007, President Bush signed into law a bill that creates a $38,000,000 grant program to help communities preserve the sites where Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals were incarcerated. Development of memorials will be eligible for fifty per cent federal matching funds administered by the National Park Service.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a process to determine the most appropriate means of memorializing the World War II Japanese internment camp experience in Hawaii.

SECTION 2. The department of land and natural resources, with the assistance of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, the Japanese American National Heritage Coalition, Historic Hawaii Foundation, and other organizations as may be appropriate, shall establish a process to determine the most appropriate means of memorializing the World War II Japanese internment camp experience in Hawaii.

In doing so, the department shall consider fully:

(1) Any research, collections, and other information compiled by cultural and historical organizations or individuals;

(2) Information on the size and current condition of the five known internment camps: Honouliuli Internment Camp and Sand Island on Oahu, Kilauea Military Camp on the Big Island, Haiku Internment Camp on Maui, and the Kalaheo Stockade on Kauai, and recommendations for preserving the camps, if feasible to do so;

(3) Cost estimates for the establishment and ongoing operations of any World War II Japanese internment camp memorial projects and funding sources, including potential federal funds; and

(4) Recommendations for long-term organizational management of any World War II Japanese internment camp memorial.

SECTION 3. The department shall report on its findings and recommendations no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2008 regular session.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $50,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 for the purposes of this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.