STAND. COM. REP. NO. 90

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 882

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 882 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A MEMORIAL,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to direct the Office of Veterans' Services of the Department of Defense, with the assistance of the Department of Accounting and General Services and the Department of Defense, to develop a plan to establish a memorial honoring the veterans of the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn on the grounds of the State Capitol near the Korean and Vietnam War Memorial.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one state agency and one private entity.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was received from one state department.

 

     Your Committee finds that the freedom and security that citizens of the United States enjoy today are direct results of the sacrifices and continued vigilance of the United States Armed Forces over the course of our nation's history.  The sacrifices of the members of the United States Armed Forces have preserved the liberties of this nation that have made it unique in the world community.  Your Committee further finds that it is both fitting and necessary for the State to give tangible and visible recognition of the sacrifices and contributions of veterans from Hawaii who served in the Persian Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn.

 

     Your Committee is aware that although the Middle East conflict is ongoing and although memorials are usually erected after the ending of a war, this measure addresses only the planning of a memorial which would likely be built after the end of the Middle East wars.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Adding Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch, and other Middle East combat conflicts beginning with Operation Desert Storm, to the list of wars for which veterans the memorial shall be established to honor;

 

(2)  Clarifying that the memorial site may be located in an area near the State Capitol;

 

(3)  Requiring the plan to include proposals to fund the memorial through a public-private partnership; and

 

(4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 882, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 882, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs,

 

 

 

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair