STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1489

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1245

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1245, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CEMETERIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Limit liability for volunteers and nonprofit organizations, nonprofit corporations, or other entities that provide volunteers, who maintain or repair cemetery grounds; and

     (2)  Require the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, in consultation with the Comptroller, to develop strategies for the upkeep, repair, and maintenance of Sunset Memorial Park in Pearl City, Oahu;

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Department of Accounting and General Services, Hawaii Cemetery Research Project, and six individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Association for Justice.

     Your Committees find that Sunset Memorial Park in Pearl City, Oahu, has had no registered owner on record since the death of its previous owner, and thus has been neglected for years, creating great concern for the families whose loved ones are buried there and for the surrounding community.  Your Committees further find that Sunset Memorial Park volunteers have tried to maintain the cemetery but have reluctantly stopped because of state liability issues.  This measure seeks to provide a viable solution to ensure the cemetery is maintained in a manner that is respectful of those buried there and ensures public safety and health.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying the allowable compensation or reimbursement for individual volunteers;

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

     (3)  Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1245, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1245, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means,

________________________________ JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair

________________________________ GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair