STAND. COM. REP. NO. 16
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 211
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2021
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 211 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HAWAIIAN AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to require that the Hawaiian language version of a law be held binding if the law in question was originally drafted in Hawaiian and then translated into English.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and eight individuals. 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 Office of the Attorney General.
Your Committee finds
that the Hawaiian language (olelo
Hawaii) is the native language and speech of Hawaii. Beginning in 1846, the Kingdom of Hawaii's
legislature declared that all laws enacted were to be published in both
Hawaiian and English. However, by 1850,
English had become the language of business, diplomacy, and the government,
leading to disputes between the use of languages in Hawaii's laws. In multiple court cases, the Hawaii Supreme
Court has upheld the supremacy of Hawaiian language as the governing law. In Hardy v. Ruggles, the Hawaii Supreme
Court held that "where there is a radical and irreconcilable difference
between the English and Hawaiian language, the latter must govern, because it
is the language of the country."
The Kingdom of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii published all their laws both
in Hawaiian and English until 1943 when the practice of publishing laws in
Hawaiian was abolished by statute.
Your Committee further finds that the Hawaii
State Constitutional Convention of 1978 added Hawaiian as an official language
to the State Constitution to "give full recognition and honor to the rich
cultural inheritance that Hawaiians have given to all ethnic groups of this State."
Article XV, Section 4, of the Hawaii State
Constitution provides:
"English and Hawaiian shall be the official languages of Hawaii except that Hawaiian shall be required for public acts and transactions as provided by law."
Although Hawaiian was established as an
official language of the State of Hawaii through this constitutional amendment
and codified in section 1-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, English continues to be predominate
and Hawaiian language access to government functions remains limited. In In re Ross, the Hawaii Supreme
Court held that "though the Hawaiian language is the original language of
[Hawaii], the English language is largely in use." This measure, therefore, reinforces the
parity of Hawaiian language with the English language by requiring Hawaiian for
public acts and transactions and ensuring that laws drafted in Hawaiian shall
be binding over English translations.
Your Committee has heard the testimony of
the Department of the Attorney General that this measure could create due
process and vagueness issues. Amending
section 1-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to allow for a version of statute to
supersede the English version may lead to ambiguities in the application and interpretation
of laws. Your Committee also notes
concerns over whether case law concerning the precedence of Hawaiian language
over English should be overridden or controlling. Your Committee finds that these issues raise
concerns that merit further consideration and requests that your Committee on
Judiciary further examine those issues and concerns raised by the testifiers on
this measure.
Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 211, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 211, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,
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________________________________ MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair |
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