STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1881

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.C.R. No. 129

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Transportation and International Affairs, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 129 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE CENTER FOR PACIFIC ISLAND STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MANOA TO ESTABLISH A TASK FORCE TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN HAWAI‘I,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the U.S. Congress to enact H.R. 4465, the Global Democracy Promotion Act.

     Prior to conducting a public hearing on this measure, your Committees circulated a proposed S.D. 1, to request the Center for Pacific Island Studies to convene and lead a task force to identify and address the needs of Pacific Islanders in Hawai‘i.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of the amended measure from the Center for Pacific Island Studies and the Department of Anthropology of the University of Hawai‘i System, and two individuals.

     Your Committees believe that there is a need to identify and address the needs of Pacific Islanders in Hawai‘i.

     The Center for Pacific Island Studies within the School of Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa is the only congressionally-recognized national resource center for the study of the Pacific Islands.  The Center for Pacific Island Studies, with its forty-two core and affiliate faculty members, possesses unparalleled expertise in the field of Pacific Island studies.  The Center for Pacific Island Studies serves the Pacific region and its people through its commitment to the dynamic, active, and constructive exchange of knowledge on the Pacific Islands.  Consequently, your Committees believe that the Center for Pacific Island Studies is the appropriate choice to convene and lead a task force to identify and address the needs of Pacific Islanders in Hawai‘i.  The task force would report its findings and recommendations to the 2008 Legislature.

     Pursuant to the foregoing, your Committees have amended the title and the substance of this measure to reflect the amendments contained in the proposed S.D. 1.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Transportation and International Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 129, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 129, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Transportation and International Affairs,

____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair