STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2772

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2597

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2597 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR A WAR MEMORIAL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for the planning, design, and construction of a memorial honoring the veterans of various wars and armed conflicts.

In addition, the measure provides for replicas of the memorial on each neighbor island.

     Your Committee received no written comments on this measure.

     Your Committee finds that military veterans have made tremendous sacrifices for the State and country.  To recognize those sacrifices, the Gulf War Memorial Task Force, pursuant to Act 139, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, recommended a memorial be raised to veterans who served in the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Global War on Terrorism, Homeland Defense, and Operation Noble Eagle, and those who have protected our borders by land, sea, and air.  Your Committee further finds that Hawaii's unique place in history and as a hub of the Pacific provides an appropriate setting for residents and visitors to express their thoughts, appreciation, and sentiments for the many veterans that have served and protected our country.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing the appropriation from general funds to general obligation bond proceeds appropriated for the same purpose;

     (2)  Changing the amount of the appropriation to an unspecified sum;

     (3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

     (4)  Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2597, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2597, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair