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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
146 |
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THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY's ‘ŌLELO HAWAI‘I INITIATIVES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The
legislature finds that article XV, section 4, of the Hawaii State Constitution
affirms that English and ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
(Hawaiian language) shall be the official languages of the State. The legislature also finds that the Hawaii
State Constitution provides for the preservation and promotion of native
Hawaiian culture, history, and language in various provisions including article
X, section 4, which states, "The State shall promote the study of Hawaiian
culture, history and language."
The
legislature further finds that the judiciary has already taken initial steps to
explore ways of providing ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
resources, interpreter, and translation services to the public. To advance this work, in 2015, the
legislature adopted a concurrent resolution, H.C.R. No. 217, Session Laws of
Hawaii 2015, that requested the judiciary to convene a task force to examine
and report on establishing ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
resources for the judiciary. The task
force report made several findings including that ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
"possesses appropriate specificity, sophistication, and technical breadth
of terminology to accurately translate legal terminology from English into ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i". Additionally, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau's 2009-2013 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates, ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
ranks number five in languages other than English spoken at home in the
State. Further, the task force found
that as an independent branch of government, the judiciary could effectively
serve as a focused model to demonstrate the use of ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i.
While the judiciary has continued its
efforts to make resources and services available in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i, it
is time for more attention and funding to move these efforts forward. The task force report made several
recommendations and identified projects that can serve as a guide to the judiciary.
The legislature notes that this Act should
not be viewed as groundbreaking. Other
countries that recognize more than one official language provide access to
government services and documents in all official languages, and the United
Nations operates in six official languages.
The
purpose of this Act is to support the judiciary's ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
initiatives. It is not the legislature's
intent that the requested funds supplant the judiciary's existing funding or
budget requests.
SECTION 2.
There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii
the sum of $300,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year
2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
year 2026-2027 to support the judiciary's ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i
projects.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the judiciary for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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Report Title:
Olelo Hawaii Initiatives; Appropriations
Description:
Appropriates funds to support the Olelo Hawaii Initiatives.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.