STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1234

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 589

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 589, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Island Burial Council, Islands of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau

 

G.M. No. 589

MAUNA KEA HIGUERA TRASK,

for a term to expire 6-30-2017,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and testimony submitted by the nominee and finds Mr. Trask to possess the requisite commitment, sincerity, dedication, and qualifications to be nominated to the Island Burial Council for the Islands of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of Mauna Kea Higuera Trask from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and three individuals.

 

     Mr. Trask graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Anthropology.  He subsequently earned his law degree at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law.  Since graduating from law school, he has worked in a variety of legal areas including criminal defense, labor, tort defense, and appellate advocacy.  He has served as a public defender for the City and County of Honolulu and as a prosecuting attorney for the County of Kauai.  He currently works as a Deputy County Attorney in Kauai where he advises the County on Native Hawaiian related issues.

 

     Mr. Trask is known by his colleagues as talented, hard-working, ethical, and fair.  He is well versed in historical Native Hawaiian texts and traditions and possesses a vast knowledge base on ancestral Native Hawaiian remains.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

 

 

____________________________

BRICKWOOD GALUTERIA, Chair