STAND. COM. REP. NO. 90

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 551

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 551 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A MEMORIAL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to direct the Office of Veterans' Affairs, with the assistance of the Department of Accounting and General Services and the Department of Defense, to develop a plan to establish a memorial honoring the veterans of the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services, State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, State Office of Veterans' Services, Oahu Veterans Center, and two individuals.

     Your Committee finds that the sacrifices of the members of the United States Armed Forces have preserved the freedom and security enjoyed by U.S. citizens.  It is fitting and necessary to give visible recognition in the form of a memorial to the contributions of veterans from Hawaii who served in the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by broadening the potential site of the memorial from the State Capitol to the historical district of Honolulu, due to concerns regarding the limited space and integrity of the Capitol design.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 551, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 551, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair