STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3390

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1924

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred H.B. No. 1924 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII STATE FOUNDATION ON CULTURE AND THE ARTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the State of Hawaii Museum of Monarchy History and the State of Hawaii Museum of Natural and Cultural History, to be expended by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, The Friends of Iolani Palace, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, HT Hayashi Foundation, and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that the State of Hawaii Museum of Monarchy History, also known as Iolani Palace, and the State of Hawaii Museum of Natural and Cultural History, also known as the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, are irreplaceable cultural treasures for Hawaii. Your Committee also finds that these institutions have lost significant operating revenue due to the drop in the number of visitors as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Despite the loss of revenues, the museums continue to be responsible for the maintenance and care of their respective collections and aging facilities. Your Committee believes that it is in the best interest of the State to appropriate funds to ensure the continued care, maintenance, and operation of these important repositories of irreplaceable collections of Hawaiian history and culture.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) 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 H.B. No. 1924, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1924, 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