STAND. COM. REP. NO. 654

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1549

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. 1549 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE KĀNEHILI COMMUNITY HALE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds and appropriate funds to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for a capital improvement project for the construction of the Kānehili community hale, a new access road, and a parking lot at the Kānehili homestead.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Kānehili Community Association, Kaupeʻa Homestead Association, Keaukaha Panaʻewa Farmers Association, and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that the Kānehili community hale is a community-driven project that will strengthen the Kānehili Community Homestead through cultural preservation, education, community engagement, access to recreation, and promotion of the well-being of lessees. The Kānehili Community Homestead has worked diligently to envision and plan this multiple-phase complex which includes a commercial kitchen, an imu, an imu station, a craft pavilion, a lei garden, an outdoor fitness station, pickleball courts, a hula mound, a splash pad, and a playfield. The Kānehili Community Homestead community is also committed to raising additional funds for the broader project. This measure will facilitate the construction of this project by providing necessary funding and is aligned with the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended, as it represents self-determination and the ability of homesteaders to shape, support, and sustain their own future.

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. 1549 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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HERBERT M. RICHARDS, III, Chair