RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, in 1993 and again in 1994, the Elderly Affairs Division of the Department of Community Services of the City and County of Honolulu organized the Oahu Silver Legislature at the State Capitol, a two-day mock legislature designed to offer adults over fifty-five years old a lively, stimulating, experiential opportunity to learn about the law-making process; and

WHEREAS, participants chose to play the role of a legislator, lobbyist, or observer, and discussed real, current issues that impact the quality of life of older adults; and

WHEREAS, many of the bills that passed the Oahu Silver Legislature were introduced at the Legislature the following January; and

WHEREAS, a series of six special pre-conference community forums were designed to help participants learn about the legislative issues and process, and prepare for the two-day event; and

WHEREAS, Kokua Council has received a grant to convene another mock legislature, and hopes to replicate this highly successful event in 2005 with a new name: Model Legislature; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the 2005 Model Legislature is to identify, train, and motivate a cadre of at least one hundred new legislative advocates to participate in the Regular Sessions of 2005 and 2006; and

WHEREAS, the Model Legislature is supported by a broad array of community organizations such as the Hawaii Alliance of Retired Americans, AARP Hawaii, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the League of Women Voters, the National Association of Social Workers, Catholic Charities, University of Hawaii Public Policy Center, Moiliili Community Center, Hawaii State Teachers Association-Retirees, the Executive Office on Aging of the Department of Health, the Elderly Affairs Division of the Department of Community Services of the City and County of Honolulu, the Maui County Office on Aging, the Hawaii County Office of Aging, the Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs, the Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society, Alu Like, and the University of Hawaii Center on Aging; and

WHEREAS, Kokua Council and its partners expect that this process will benefit everyone -- families, professionals, the public at-large, and policy makers -- concerned with senior issues and will provide learning opportunities for Hawaii's older adults to develop their leadership and citizen participation skills; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the Kokua Council is urged to convene the 2005 Model Legislature and its pre-event activities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2005 Regular Session of the Legislature are encouraged to actively support this event by, among other things, volunteering to give presentations at community forums, offering the use of the Capitol facilities, and promoting participation from citizens in their districts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Kokua Council, who in turn is requested to transmit copies of this Concurrent Resolution to the entities listed in this measure as supporters of the Model Legislature.

Report Title:

Kokua Council; Convene 2005 Model Legislature