STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2851

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2796

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2796 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to establish a Kalaupapa Memorial to serve as a permanent commemoration of the people who were isolated on the peninsula of Kalaupapa, Molokai by government policies regarding leprosy, now also called Hansen's disease, beginning in 1866.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Ka Ohana O Kalaupapa, Kohala Hawaiian Civic Club, IDEA Center for the Voices of Humanity, Kalaupapa Memorial Committee, and twenty-nine individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health.

Your Committee finds that the story of the people who were sent to Kalaupapa, their sacrifices and experiences, and the resolve that developed to confront their physical and spiritual hardships is a significant part of the history of Hawaii. It is important to recognize and learn from the legacy of the people who endured the hardships of Kalaupapa and their treatment by the outside world. The Kalaupapa memorial will honor all of the people who were sent to Kalaupapa, and provide their families, the people of Hawaii, and visitors from around the world with a permanent place of remembrance, healing, and pride.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Making a blank appropriation to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Office of Community Services;

(2) Changing the effective date to January 1, 2051, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2796, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2796, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts,

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BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair