81
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
DECLARING THE SECOND TUESDAY OF SEPTEMBER AS LEGISLATORS BACK-TO-
   SCHOOL DAY IN HAWAII. 


 1       WHEREAS, Hawaii was created as a representative democracy
 2   where all governmental power is inherent in the people who
 3   exercise that power through the legislative, executive, and
 4   judicial branches; and 
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, in recent years, citizen interest in government
 7   and knowledge of the political system have declined in part due
 8   to a weakening belief in, and a lack of understanding of, the
 9   virtues and knowledge needed for a successful form of
10   government; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, this lack of interest is clearly evidenced in
13   current statewide voter registration statistics, which indicate
14   that only 39 of 3,924 of 18-19-year-olds, or one percent, and
15   3,924 of 53,415 persons in the 20-29 age group, or twelve
16   percent, are registered voters; and
17   
18       WHEREAS, Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of
19   Independence stated:
28   
29   and 
30   
31       WHEREAS, the National Conference of State Legislatures
32   (NCSL) has passed a resolution stating that the operations of
33   state legislatures and the roles of individual legislators are
34   often little understood by citizens, and that public
35   understanding of the institutions and processes of government
36   are critical to building public trust and confidence; and 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, the NCSL resolution also states that state
 2   legislatures need to bring about a better understanding of the
 3   concept of representative democracy and that education about
 4   representative democracy should emphasize the importance of
 5   compromise and the difficulty of resolving competing interests
 6   in a diverse society; and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, NCSL urges the nation's state legislatures to
 9   promote civic education about representative democracy as civic
10   education is a vital tool to promote greater understanding of
11   the legislative institution and the role of legislators in
12   representative democracy; and 
13   
14       WHEREAS, NCSL has established America's Legislators Back-
15   to-School Day, a national day in which state legislators across
16   the nation visit schools and classrooms to talk about their
17   legislatures and observe activities in the schools; and
18   
19       WHEREAS, legislators will benefit from interacting with
20   students, teachers, and administrators; now, therefore,
21   
22       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
23   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
24   of 2000, the Senate concurring, that the second Tuesday in
25   September be designated as Legislators Back-to-School Day in
26   Hawaii; and 
27   
28       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all members of the Hawaii State
29   Legislature be urged to visit schools on that day to promote
30   greater understanding of the legislative institution and the
31   role of legislators in representative democracy, and to support
32   civic education; and
33   
34       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that that legislators, in
35   collaboration with the Department of Education, the Office of
36   Elections, businesses, all political parties, and other
37   stakeholders within the community, develop a program for high
38   school seniors that would:
39   
40       (1)  Stress the importance of civic involvement and
41            responsibility; and
42   
43       (2)  Provide the opportunity for onsite voter registration;
44   
45   and

 
 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the
 3   Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
 4   Superintendent of Education, the Executive Directors of the
 5   Office of Elections and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, and
 6   the Chairpersons of Hawaii's political parties and political
 7   parties registered with the Campaign Spending Commission.