STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2461

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3218

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3218 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HAWAIIAN RECOGNITION DAY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to designate November 28 of each year as La Ku‘oko‘a, Hawaiian Recognition Day, to celebrate the historical recognition of the independence of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services, Hawaii State Archives, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and three individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Human Resources.

Your Committees find that Hawaii's special heritage and the various holidays currently celebrated distinguish Hawaii from other states. La Ku‘oko‘a commemorates the date of November 28, 1843, when, during the reign of Kamehameha III, Great Britain and France recognized the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom, thereby making it known to the world that the Hawaiian Islands were one sovereign political unit under the complete and exclusive control of the Hawaiian kingdom. Your Committees further find that La Ku‘oko‘a was first recognized as a holiday in Hawaii in 1847, was recognized as an official holiday of the Republic of Hawaii in 1896, and continued to be celebrated as an official holiday by the Territory of Hawaii in 1902. Your Committees believe that the State's acknowledgment of La Ku‘oko‘a, or Hawaiian Recognition Day, is an appropriate and meaningful way to celebrate the recognition of Hawaii's independence and its rich and diverse culture and history.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3218 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor, Culture and the Arts and Hawaiian Affairs,

________________________________ MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair

________________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair