Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 115 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to serve as a short-form bill or a "vehicle" containing only a bill title for subsequent use during the legislative process.

Your Committee has amended the bill by adding an appropriation of an unspecified amount to assist the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery.

Your Committee finds that the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe opened in 1991 and currently is the only state run facility that serves veterans and their families. The cemetery is a place of peace and tranquillity where comrades-in-arms and friends can visit the final resting-place of departed veterans.

Unfortunately, this peace and tranquillity has been disturbed by soil problems in the area. A recent study has found that the cemetery's soil is not suitable for re-use as back-fill in graves due to its composition and moisture content. Consequently, the substandard soil cannot provide the necessary support for graves and headstones, causing them to sink in unsightly holes that mar the landscape and desecrate the sanctity of the cemetery. To alleviate the soil problem, a better grade of back-fill is needed, as well as casket liners for adequate protection.

This bill appropriates funds to remedy the soil problem and provide casket liners at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery to ultimately provide a decent burial site for Hawaii's veterans.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the action to report out H.B. No. 115, as amended herein, and recommends that it be recommitted to the Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs, for the purpose of holding a public hearing thereon, in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 115, H.D. 1.