H.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 512, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide funding for ancillary improvements and programs for the proposed state art museum in the No. 1 Capitol District Building through the works of art special fund.

Your Committee heard testimony in support of the measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Board of Commissioners of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Hawaii Consortium for the Arts, Hawaii Alliance for Arts Education, Friends of Iolani Palace, Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Hawaii Maritime Center, Washington Place Foundation, Art Maui, Honu Group Inc., Mystery Dinosaur Productions, Graphic House, five professors of art from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, eight artists, an arts educator, and ten private citizens.

Your Committee finds that acquisition and remodeling of the No. 1 Capitol District Building as a state art museum provides a golden opportunity to consolidate and make accessible to the public the massive, high quality state art collection that is presently scattered widely throughout a variety of state office buildings. The museum would likely be the cornerstone of a rejuvenated, pedestrian-oriented historical and cultural district centered around the State Capitol. Such a district would be a tremendous asset in marketing Hawaii as a premiere destination for cultural tourism, in addition to the enjoyment and enrichment it would give our local residents.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 512, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.