STAND. COM. REP. NO.380

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1662

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Science, Arts, and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 1662 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONGRESSWOMAN PATSY T. MINK,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to commission a work of art as a memorial to the late Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Women's Center, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii Foundation, the Democratic Party of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the Business and Professional Women of Hawaii, the Community Alliance on Prisons, the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, and six private individuals. The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts submitted testimony in support of the intent of the measure.

Your Committee finds that Patsy Takemoto Mink was a woman of unrivaled stature, both within our State and the nation, who chose to accept the challenges faced by women of color in the mid-twentieth century. Due to Mrs. Mink's experiences with discrimination in our country, as a Congresswoman she was committed to establishing a national policy that supported equal access to educational opportunities for all women. Mrs. Mink was successful, and over twenty-five years later, many thousands of women have benefited from the equal educational opportunities provided through the Title IX Education Act, recently renamed by the U.S. Congress as the Patsy Mink Act.

However, Congresswoman Mink's legacy is not only one of advocacy for woman and minorities, but also one of compassion for those who were less fortunate and whose voice would not otherwise be heard. Mrs. Mink was also known throughout the nation, and the world, as a proponent of peaceful resolution to global conflict and she did not shy away from taking controversial positions in opposition to military action when she believed that other solutions were possible.

Your Committee agrees that our State should commission a commemorative work of art to honor Mrs. Mink and recognize her contributions to our State, our nation, and the world. Your Committee notes that due to her strong advocacy of and support for education, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts should explore placing a commemorative work of art within the University of Hawaii campus at Manoa, after consultation with Mrs. Mink's family, the university administration, and other interested parties.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Science, Arts, and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1662 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Science, Arts, and Technology,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair