STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1799

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 804

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 804, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Hawai'i Sister State Committee

G.M. No. 804

EDUARDO TOPENIO JR., for a term to expire 06-30-2023,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by Eduardo Topenio Jr. for service on the Hawai‘i Sister State Committee (Sister State Committee).

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination for the reappointment of Mr. Topenio from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Upon review of the testimony and Mr. Topenio's qualifications, your Committee finds that Mr. Topenio has been serving on the Sister State Committee since 2014. Mr. Topenio is currently the Administrative Assistant to the County Clerk, County of Kauai, a position he has held since January 2012. He also served as Deputy County Clerk from May 2010 to January 2012. Prior to his employment with the County of Kauai, Mr. Topenio spent ten years in the tourism and hospitality industry on Kauai as a Banquet Manager at the Princeville Hotel. Your Committee further finds that Mr. Topenio has extensive experience in community service. He speaks Ilocano and has volunteered his time in numerous community organizations on Kauai, including the Kauai Filipino Chamber of Commerce, for which he previously served as President; Kauai Hospice, for which he has been serving as a volunteer for over fifteen years; and Kapaa Rotary, for which he has been serving as a volunteer for over ten years.

Your Committee notes that Hawaii's sister-state relationship with the Republic of the Philippines is among the strongest, with five of the State's eighteen sister-state relationships being with provinces thereof.

Your Committee finds that Eduardo Topenio Jr.'s understanding and knowledge on the local government of Kauai and Kauai's Filipino community, his fluency in Ilocano, experience in tourism and hospitality, and commitment to the enhancement of Hawaii's sister-state relationships with the Republic of the Philippines, will continue to be valuable assets to the Sister State Committee.

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, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair