STAND. COM. REP. NO. 162

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1741
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Culture and the Arts, to which was
referred H.B. No. 1741 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN CULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received, is to:

     (1)  Establish an advisory Hawaiian Cultural Heritage
          Commission (Commission) within the Department of
          Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) to
          advise government agencies on matters regarding the
          Hawaiian culture, including traditional Hawaiian
          practices, the use of resources, and land use, and to
          designate cultural heritage areas; and

     (2)  Appropriate the sum of $250,000 for fiscal year 1999-
          2000 and the sum of $500,000 for fiscal year 2000-2001
          to establish and operate the Commission.

     Testimony in support of this bill was received from Na
Kupuna O Maui, an organization of spiritual and cultural elders,
eleven concerned Kupuna individuals, and a concerned citizen from
Lahaina, Maui.  Testimony in opposition to this bill was received
from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

     Your Committee finds that the State of Hawaii has a moral
obligation to protect and preserve the Hawaiian culture and
understands the need to preserve areas of significance and the

 
 
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important role these areas play in preserving and perpetuating
the Hawaiian culture and its practices.  Your Committee further
finds that the establishment of a Hawaiian Cultural Heritage
Commission will play an important role in identifying areas of
cultural significance and protecting these sensitive areas.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by changing the
appropriation amount for both fiscal years 1999-2000 and 2000-
2001 to $1 for purposes of further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Culture and the Arts that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of H.B. No. 1741, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1741, H.D.
1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian
Affairs.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Culture and the
                                   Arts,



                                   ______________________________
                                   K. MARK TAKAI, Chair