STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3822

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 172

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 S.R. No. 172 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION DESIGNATING MARCH 10 AS ENEWETAK ATOLL (MARSHALL ISLANDS) LIBERATION DAY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to designate March 10 as Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands) Liberation Day.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that Enewetak Atoll is a large coral atoll in the Marshall Islands, now known as the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Your Committee further finds that the people of the Marshall Islands, including Enewetak Atoll, experience numerous challenges today connected to the nuclear testing conducted by the United States government in and above the islands from 1946 to 1958, such as being displaced from their ancestral lands because of lingering contamination. Your Committee also finds that many displaced citizens of Enewetak Atoll moved to and settled in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates on the island of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that the people of Enewetak Atoll, which had been mandated to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations after World War I, celebrate March 10, 1944, as Liberation Day, commemorating the defeat of Japanese forces by the United States military during World War II, and that the festivities of Liberation Day have become one of the most important and enjoyable events on Enewetak Atoll. This measure designates March 10 as Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands) Liberation Day in honor and remembrance of the people of Enewetak Atoll and the community of their descendants in Hawaii.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting detailed explanations of the nuclear testing performed by the United States government in the Marshall Islands;

(2) Clarifying that the designation of March 10 as Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands) Liberation Day is in honor and remembrance of the people of Enewetak Atoll and the community of their descendants in Hawaii; and

(3) 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 concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 172, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 172, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts,

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BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair