STAND. COM. REP. NO. 831

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 786

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 786, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE AHA MOKU ADVISORY COMMITTEE,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate moneys to the Aha Moku Advisory Committee for administration, operation, and community outreach so that it can fulfill its mission to advise the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Land and Natural Resources regarding the aha moku system on issues related to land and natural resources.  

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Koolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Koolau Foundation, and eleven individuals.  Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from one individual.  Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

 

     Your Committee finds that the Aha Moku Advisory Committee was established as an attempt to remediate the deterioration of the Hawaiian culture, language, values, and land tenure system.  Although the Aha Moku Advisory Committee was established in 2012, it has never been fully funded.  Your Committee further finds that the Aha Moku Advisory Committee should be funded so that it may fulfill its mission to advise the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Land and Natural Resources regarding the aha moku system, including issues relating to Hawaiian reserve management and environmental preservation.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; 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 Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 786, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 786, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair