STAND. COM. REP. NO. 207

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 109

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 109 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require that the Hawaiian 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 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Judiciary, and seven individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that currently, the English version of a law is binding whenever there are any irreconcilable differences between the English and Hawaiian version of any laws of the State. By recognizing the primacy of Hawaiian in laws originally written in the language, this measure honors the cultural and historical significance of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and preserves the intent of those who drafted such laws during the Kingdom of Hawaii, the territorial era, and beyond.

Your Committee notes that the Department of the Attorney General provided testimony regarding its concerns that the measure may lead to ambiguities in the application and interpretation of laws. Therefore, your Committee finds that it is proper to incorporate the specific amendments recommended by the Department of the Attorney General into the measure.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that if a law was originally drafted in Hawaiian and was translated into English based on the Hawaiian version, the Hawaiian version shall be held binding if the law has not been later amended, codified, recodified, or reenacted in English; and

(2) 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. 109, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 109, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,

________________________________

HERBERT RICHARDS, Chair