STAND. COM. REP. NO. 4098
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: H.C.R. No. 14
H.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.C.R. No. 14, H.D. 1, entitled:
"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A SISTER-STATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE OF HAWAII, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE AUTONOMOUS REGION OF MADEIRA, PORTUGAL,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is
to establish a sister-state relationship between the State of Hawaii and the
Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal.
Your Committee received testimony in
support of this measure from the Department
of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Região Autónoma da Madeira, Governo
Regional, Secretaria Regional de Turismo e Cultura; Honorary Consul of Portugal
in Hawaii; and eighty-eight
individuals.
Your Committee finds that Hawaii has
developed and maintained a rich heritage of international relations and
cultural exchanges since the days of the Hawaiian monarchy in the nineteenth
century. Hawaii has an abiding interest
in developing goodwill, friendship, and economic relations between the people of
Hawaii and the people of many nations and continues to actively seek
opportunities to expand its international ties.
Since establishing its first sister-state relationship in 1981, Hawaii has
formed sister-state relationships with nineteen various states and provinces
throughout the globe as a means of asserting and promoting the State's active
participation in international matters.
As of today, the State maintains sister-state relationships with nineteen
states and provinces.
Your Committee recognizes that most successful
sister-state relationships are established when there is commonality between
Hawaii and the sister state, primarily from geographical, historical, cultural,
or economic standpoints, and there is a clear, strong governmental interest in
not only forming, but maintaining the relationship. Your Committee finds that Hawaii and the
Autonomous Region of Madeira share a long history and strong bond, beginning
with the arrival of one hundred eighty Madeiran contract laborers in Honolulu Harbor on September 30, 1878,
followed by approximately eight thousand Madeiran immigrants during the
subsequent three decades. Madeira's
culture, introduced to Hawaii by the Madeiran immigrants, became integral parts
of the lives, tradition, and culture of the people in Hawaii, including braguinha, which became the ‘ukulele; linguiça, which became known as Portuguese
sausage; and their skills as cattlemen, whose traditions shaped Hawaii's paniolo. In terms of geographic and economic
standpoints, Hawaii and Madeira share the fact that they are both archipelagos
of volcanic origin with tourism being one of their main economic drivers. Your Committee also notes multiple testimonies
of government officials and individuals in Hawaii and Madeira, expressing excitement
and strong support for the establishment and maintenance of this sister-state
relationship.
Your
Committee finds that the sister-state relationship proposed by this
measure will be highly beneficial in expanding tourism, strengthening cultural bonds, and advancing common goals of international peace and fellowship. Your Committee further finds that the Hawaii Sister-State
Committee met on November 16, 2021, and approved a formal recommendation that a
sister-state relationship be established with the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
Your
Committee notes that Hawaii currently has a sister-state relationship with the Autonomous
Region of the Azores in Portugal that was established in 1982, which, according
to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, has not been active
in recent years. Your Committee hopes
that the establishment of the Hawaii-Madeira sister-state relationship will reinvigorate
Hawaii's relationship with the Azores, leading to
a strengthened bond among all three states.
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 concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 14, H.D. 1, and recommends its adoption.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts,
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________________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
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