STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3233

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 99

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Judiciary, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 99 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII TO EXERCISE ITS POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN TO CONDEMN NAALEHU THEATER TO PRESERVE THE THEATER'S HISTORIC LEGACY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the County Council of the County of Hawaii to exercise its power of eminent domain to condemn Naalehu Theater to preserve the theater's historic legacy.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committees find that it is important to preserve historic landmarks and buildings in the State. The Naalehu Theater on the island of Hawaii is the southernmost theater in the country and was constructed in 1925 by the Hutchinson Sugar Company. Through the years, the theater has hosted live performances, community events, and movie screenings for the public. However, your Committees find that the theater, which is privately owned, has fallen into disrepair and that the current owner has not acted to repair the building. Additionally, the owner has respectfully rejected considerations for listing the property on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places by the Hawaii Historic Places Review Board, which if accepted would qualify the theater for financial resources and grants, media exposure, and a twenty percent federal reimbursement for approved repairs. Accordingly, your Committees urge the Hawaii County Council to take appropriate actions to condemn the theater so that its historic legacy might be preserved.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 99 and recommend that it be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair

________________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair