STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 217
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2021
RE: H.B. No. 678
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2021
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 678 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATE HOLIDAYS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The
purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Establish Lā
Kū‘oko‘a,
Hawaiian Recognition Day, as an official state holiday; and
(2) Remove Election Day as an official state holiday.
Your Committee finds that
Lā Kū‘oko‘a was
originally established in 1847 by King Kamehameha III to recognize and celebrate
Hawaii's recognition as an emerging power by the global powers of the
time. Your Committee further finds that Lā
Kū‘oko‘a was
celebrated as a national holiday by the Provisional Government of Hawaii, the
Republic of Hawaii, and through the initial years of the Territory of Hawaii.
Your
Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Reinstating Election Day as an official state
holiday;
(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2065,
to encourage further discussion; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments
for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
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. 678, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 678, 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,
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____________________________ CEDRIC ASUEGA GATES, Chair |
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