STAND. COM. REP. NO. 70-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 1449

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1449 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO JUNETEENTH DAY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish June 19 of each year as a state holiday to be known as Juneteenth Day.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission; Hawai‘i State Association of Counties; Common Cause Hawaii; Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates; and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Office of Collective Bargaining, and Department of Human Resources of the City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committee finds that June 19 is a federal holiday known as Juneteenth, which marks the day that news of emancipation reached the last state, Texas, in 1866, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Your Committee further finds that designating Juneteenth as a state holiday will recognize the history and legacy of slavery in the United States and honor the significant roles, contributions, and achievements of African Americans in the history of the United States and Hawaii as well as the fundamental importance of equal treatment for all, regardless of race, color, or national origin.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2044, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1449, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1449, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs,

____________________________

CEDRIC ASUEGA GATES, Chair